It has to be finally asked . Why so much infatuation with Antoine Walker?

[blazingarrow]

I feel the same way about Toine as I do Drew Bledsoe.

He was never a superstar, but he was a big part of the team and it's identity, for better or worse.

Someone already mentioned the 4th quarter speach during the Nets game, and I see that as this awesome "passing the torch" moment before Pierce went on to cement himself as a legit superstar and possible Hall of Famer.

Besides, almost everyone on this board has done the big wiggle after hitting a big shot in a pick up game. C'mon haters, you know you've done it too.

[LB3533]

I have a soft spot for Drew myself, but Toine did a lot more for the Celtics than Drew did for the Patriots.

[guava_wrench]

Because some people are sentimental about certain players. Some love Walker. Some love Delonte. Some love Gomes. Some love Telfair. Ok, maybe not Telfair.

These sentimental people who are attached to certain players get very excited when those players are available and want them back.

The better question is why these people embarrass themselves by seriously suggesting trying to pick Toine up again every year and how they could possible be so out of sync with pretty much every professional talent evaluator in the NBA.

People say stuff like "he bleeds green", which is just an exaggeration of the player's effort and professionalism. Even if that were the case, that wouldn't mean that we should re-sign Tommy Heinsohn to play forward.

[x4Ooz2Frdom]

BRING ANTOINE BACK!

[sbm8196]

I am 32 and there still really isn't much Larry Bird that I don't eat up.  Loved the guy, loved the Chief, McHale, even Bill Walton annoys me less than he probably would had he not worn green.

Walker was truly the biggest hope we had immediately after Reggie Lewis.  And one of the VERY best things about (most) Celtic fans is our loyalty.  I like Toine.  He doesn't do much for our team now but he did love being a Celtic and regardless of how extreme his effect was on our team (so many points, rebounds, assists offset by turnovers, three attempts and poor play) in his day I hope we all at least recognize that he gave us the best he could give when he was on the court.

I would love to see Big Al and Ryan Gomes back too at some point, which is also the loyal Celtic fan in me talking.  Just like Toine, they gave all they had when they were on the court.  They also worked harder than Toine during the offseason

[Michael Anthony]

Plain and simple, the real reason Toine gets so much love is Larry Bird.

A lot of us are to young to remember Bird in his prime; but we did get to experience a cocky 6'9" forward that could drop 30, pull 10 boards, and dish 5 assists on any given night - all while raining threes and talking trash.

We did not have Larry, we had Toine.

[Spoon]

experience a cocky 6'9" forward that could drop 30, pull 10 boards, and dish 5 assists on any given night - all while raining threes and talking trash.

We did not have Larry, we had Toine.

All while shooting 40% and about 60% from the FT line.

There should be some sort of law against putting Antoine Walker in the same sentence as Larry Bird.

[cordobes]

(...)
Heck, before the Championship, I saw less love for Paul Pierce than I did for Antoine Walker in a very large section of this membership. Or at least it seemed that way to me. And I never understood it because I always thought Pierce was 10 times the player and 10 times the Celtic than Antoine ever was. But Antoine got the "come on back we love you" threads every month and Pierce got at least 1-2 threads ripping him for something every month.

Never understood that. Never will.

Because Pierce is here and Walker isn't. Thank God for both things.

[Redz]

Nick, you'll proud to know that a kid was just sifting through the hoops card box at my shop and said "Antoney...Antoine Walker...Who's that?"

[Andy Jick]

experience a cocky 6'9" forward that could drop 30, pull 10 boards, and dish 5 assists on any given night - all while raining threes and talking trash.

We did not have Larry, we had Toine.

All while shooting 40% and about 60% from the FT line.

There should be some sort of law against putting Antoine Walker in the same sentence as Larry Bird.

when it's all said and done, here's the moniker we'll remember:

"Walker Wiggle"

"Larry Legend"

...you be the judge.

[Jon]

One additional distinction I'll make about Walker infatuation is pre #17 vs. post #17.  Before we won the title, I was often for some of the scenarios to bring Walker back.  And on a very basic logical standpoint that made a lot of sense: both times they traded him away they got significantly worse and the one time the reacquired him they got significantly better. 

However, what I don't get is any infatuation with Walker now.  This team won it all without him and the skill set he does bring doesn't really fit what this team needs.  On the same note, while his return really wouldn't help the team, it also wouldn't hurt if he signed here as a FA minimum player.  He's not Ron Artest; he's not going to beat up a fan or destroy a locker room or anything. 

Overall, I think Antoine Walker should now be relegated to the role of just another player or at the very least, just another former Celtic.  I appreciate what he did while he was here, but that era is over and we're onto something much better. 

[nickagneta]

One additional distinction I'll make about Walker infatuation is pre #17 vs. post #17.  Before we won the title, I was often for some of the scenarios to bring Walker back.  And on a very basic logical standpoint that made a lot of sense: both times they traded him away they got significantly worse and the one time the reacquired him they got significantly better. 

However, what I don't get is any infatuation with Walker now.  This team won it all without him and the skill set he does bring doesn't really fit what this team needs.  On the same note, while his return really wouldn't help the team, it also wouldn't hurt if he signed here as a FA minimum player.  He's not Ron Artest; he's not going to beat up a fan or destroy a locker room or anything. 

Overall, I think Antoine Walker should now be relegated to the role of just another player or at the very least, just another former Celtic.  I appreciate what he did while he was here, but that era is over and we're onto something much better.  

TP4U. Very well said.

[TripleOT]

As a season ticket holder from a couple of years into the Toine era in Boston, I appreciated the fact that the Cs, along with Pierce, of course, actually had a chance to beat any team they played. 

That was a long time coming for a Celtics fan.  Although I hate showboating, I always felt the Walker Wiggle was done out of pure joy of basketball. A lot of Toine's actions used to drive me crazy, like his Bataan Death March to the bench when the coach had the temerity to actually take him out of the game, but I always saw it was a result of his burning desire to help his team beat the other team. 

[GregKite]

Remember, Antoine arrived in 1996 at a point where Celtics Nation was pretty discouraged. Antoine was the right guy at the right time; he brought swagger back to the Celtics.

He was good, very good, but not as good as he thought he was. In his mind there was never the slightest doubt that he was the best player on the floor. You could say he got Celtics fans believing in their team again, and you can't put a price on that.

That's his real legacy, and it's why we'll never forget him. It's not as good as winning titles, but I'd still vote to have his number retired.

[LB3533]

Well, I feel that there were nights where Antoine was the best player on the floor...but then there would be nights where he might have been the worst player on the floor.