The wave of basketball players arriving in Israel continued on Thursday as Maccabi Tel Aviv’s new guard Lonnie Walker IV landed at Ben Gurion Airport. The 26-year-old American, who signed a three-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv, is expected to be one of the team’s biggest stars. It was no surprise that shortly after his arrival he was greeted by many yellow-and-blue fans, posed for photos with them, and signed items they had brought especially for the occasion.

Walker, originally from Reading, Pennsylvania, played one season at the University of Miami. He was selected 18th overall in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs, where he played for four seasons. In the 2022/23 season he moved to the Los Angeles Lakers, playing alongside LeBron James and averaging an impressive 11.7 points per game in the regular season, while adding 6.2 points per game during the playoff run.

Walker spent one season with the Brooklyn Nets, and last season split his time between Žalgiris Kaunas and Philadelphia. With the Lithuanian team he averaged 13.6 points per game in the EuroLeague before leaving mid-season, while in Philadelphia he posted the highest scoring average of his NBA career — 12.4 points — across 20 games.

“I’m super excited and it’s always a blessing to play the game you love, especially at one of the highest stages of the world I’m happy to be a part of Maccabi a team with a lot of history and the fans are amazing. I’m excited what the future holds as we have some great players and other good players that are returning like Jaylen Hoard and I think we can capitalize on a lot of wins.

Walker also spoke about joining a team with a number of familiar faces that he had played with in the NBA, “I think that’s a big deal. Chemistry is always one of the hardest things to build upon when you’re playing with new teammates and players like Jeff Dowtin and Oshae Brissett it kind of makes the transition a little more seamless, so I’m excited for that. Me playing in the Euroleague last year and going into this year and having a little experience and understanding the game and how it’s played over here is something that will allow me to bring forth a lot of experience and energy. I’m just excited to be here and to build.”

The guard talked about the decision to come to Maccabi, “It was a very long period of time figuring out what was next. That’s one thing that me and the Maccabi fans have are that we are extremely loyal, we love what we can bring to the table and what will help us win. I’m very excited to be here and happy to be here, it will always be Maccabi until the day I die now.”

As far as the history of Maccabi it’s a great one and I know that the club has many Euroleague titles. What the team has accomplished with the fans is amazing. Since I walked in they have been cheering me on and giving me some love. I’m excited for the fans and I love them already and I hope that they will bring a lot of energy into the season and I hope they continue to bring that every single day.”

Walker who played well over 350 NBA games knows what to do on the court as he described what the fans can expect from him, “You name it, scoring, energy, passion, defense, highflying, shooting and jumping that’s what their going to get.”

This Maccabi team has a nice mix of Israelis, Americans as well as some who have played in the NBA which is something that Walker believes will be a real asset for the club, “We have a great team and I think we are going to surprise a lot of people, we have so many great quality pieces from 1-5 and coming off the bench. I think as we continue to practice and play with each other and build that chemistry I think it’s going to be one heck of a season.”