After the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Lonnie Walker IV spoke about his magical game.
Walker IV played 27 minutes off the bench in Game 4 and finished with 15 points. The Miami product scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, helping the Lakers outscore the Warriors 27-17 in the final frame.
“I mean, truthfully speaking, I’m a scorer mentality first,” Walker IV said. “So first shot in the fourth, first shot in the first, I mean, it don’t really mean any difference to me honestly. I’ve been shooting a lot of shots my entire life. So I got a lot of confidence in myself. I know my value. I know what I’m capable of doing. And by the grace of god and a lot of hard work and sacrifices and time in the gym, the fruition kind of came today.”
Walker IV, who was reinserted into the rotation in Game 3, has scored 27 points over the last two games, enabling the Lakers to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Warriors. Los Angeles is now one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2020.
Lonnie Walker IV: This Is the Greatest Feeling You Can Ever Imagine
Walker IV was all smiles after Game 4. The 24-year-old has been preparing his whole life to have a big game in the playoffs and it finally happened against the defending champions.
“The greatest feeling you can ever imagine,” Walker IV said. “As a kid, this is something I’ve been dreaming of doing, not just being a part of the playoffs, but impacting it, yet alone winning the playoffs. And I’m just truly proud of myself. It really shows my capabilities and just my mental fortitude. I think the hardest thing of being able to play a lot and then not playing at all is sticking with it. There’s a lot of uncontrollable things that you can’t control and you just gotta take it day to day. Stack the days, and every single day, you’re trying to be better than who you were yesterday. So that’s what I’m always trying to accomplish is just reach my best self.”
Walker IV started 32 times for the Lakers during the regular season and appeared in 56 games. He averaged 11.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists. The former San Antonio Spurs star deserves major credit for staying ready while being out of the rotation.
LeBron James Talks About Lonnie Walker IV
Lakers superstar LeBron James is very proud of Walker IV for remaining engaged and professional despite not playing. The four-time MVP had a lot of praise for Lonnie during his postgame press conference after Game 4.
“I think it’s self-explanatory obviously how special he was in the fourth quarter,” James said. “He had 15 of our 27 points. But just more importantly, just like in my career, in my 20-year career, I’ve seen a lot of young guys kind of lose confidence in themself or lose themself if they been in the rotation or started or had big minutes on the team and then they get taken out of the lineup because of certain situations or circumstances whatever the case may be. And they just completely lose themself. And for him to be a young guy in this league and just consistently every single day showed up, been a professional, great energy, high character, it showed why he was able to throw everything to the side and just be him tonight in that moment. And the game ball definitely goes to him. We don’t win without him.”
Game 5 of this series is on May 10 in Golden State.
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Lakers’ Lonnie Walker IV Sounds Off on His Magical Game 4 vs. Warriors