Lonnie Walker IV is set to play overseas once again as he agreed to a deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, per NBA insider Marc Stein. Walker is set to be one of the highest-paid players overseas, though he has an NBA buyout clause until Aug. 1.
Walker became a free agent this summer after the 76ers declined his team option. The guard started last season on the Celtics in training camp but was waived before the start of the 2024-25 campaign. Initially, he sounded like he could have played in the G League with the Maine Celtics before getting his next NBA opportunity.
Instead, Walker chose to sign with Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania. He played there for the majority of the season before being signed by the Sixers in late-February. Walker finished out the year in Philadelphia, averaging 12.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 20 games (seven starts).
But the Sixers elected to go a different direction as Walker heads back overseas. It’s a slight surprise Walker hasn’t been able to find a new NBA home as he’s played in a career 342 games (95 starts) over his seven-year career stateside. But the opportunity to go overseas for a lucrative contract doesn’t sound too bad either.
While Walker didn’t spend much time with the Celtics, he still enjoyed the experience in Boston playing alongside the then-defending champs.
“When you’re a part of a championship organization and how they approach the game, it gives you a little bit more motivation and inspiration,” Walker said. “You want to be the best. You want to see how everyone has proceeded to be the best and why they’re such a great team. There’s definitely some motivation that was given playing with the Celtics.
“It definitely made me want to go a lot harder because I want to be in that position that they are in. So it definitely instilled something as far as like, let my work ethic be the hardest-working man on the team as much as I can.”
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