Jabari Walker joins Sixers feeling motivated and ‘grateful for this moment’
Walker, a high-energy forward, signed a two-way contract with the Sixers last week after spending his first three NBA seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Jabari Walker expected to receive a full contract offer this summer, not a two-way deal.
But the feedback from the free-agency market, the 22-year-old forward added, “doesn’t lie.”
So Walker acknowledges he “100%” has motivation as he joins the 76ers on a contract that requires him to split time between the NBA team and the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats. But he chose Philly over other options that his representation explored because of the talented roster, along with the Sixers’ need at his position.
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“Whether that’s things I need to be doing better, or whether it’s just [the] situation, it all led to me being here,” Walker said Tuesday afternoon at the Sixers’ practice facility. “I’m just grateful for this moment because a lot of people don’t even have this. I’m friends with old teammates that aren’t even in the league anymore, and I’m talking to them, and they’re like, ‘Man, take advantage of what you have in front of you.’
“So, yes, the goal is the [full] contract. But just me being here and being part of a team that wants to win and playing with all these amazing guys, I think I’m just grateful to be where I’m at right now.”
At 6-foot-7 and 215 pounds, Walker first points to his high-energy and unselfish playing style, which manifests itself in his willingness to rebound and defend multiple positions. The 2022 second-round draft pick out of Colorado — and the son of former NBA mainstay Samaki Walker — also enjoys playmaking, whether of the simple-pass variety or the “couple flashy highlight assists” he has pulled off as a professional.
Last season, Walker averaged 5.2 points on 51.5% shooting and 3.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes across 60 games for the Portland Trail Blazers, the organization for which he played his first three NBA seasons.
“I’ve been blessed with that,” Walker said of his intangibles. “Not everybody has that joy where they just wake up and they want to impact in the ways that don’t involve the ball.”
Shooting, meanwhile, has become a point of emphasis throughout Walker’s career.
He said it took “a year or two” for his legs to adapt to the NBA three-point line. He then spent an offseason focused on “strictly shooting,” which created a more fluid form that resulted in a jump in three-point shooting percentage from 29.5% in 2023-24 to 38.9% last season.
He knows that skill will be “very important” while playing alongside stars such as Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey, who attract gobs of defensive attention with the ball in their hands.
Walker added that he has been working on becoming stronger with the ball in his hands this summer, which he hopes can lead to more downhill attacks and finishes through contact that often are required of small forwards. He also wants to move quicker as a defender, acknowledging that “there were times last year where, when I was tired, my feet got slower, and that wasn’t a great representation of me.”
When he left Portland, Walker received an outpouring of support from Trail Blazers fans that role players rarely receive. He views that as evidence that “you never know who you can come across and how you impact them” during everyday interactions while grabbing a meal or moving through the airport.
He also appreciated being part of a young, rebuilding team and watching Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson come into their own.
Walker also recognizes that everything will be “amplified” in Philly. The Sixers’ veteran roster and win-now expectations, particularly following a disastrous 2024-25 season. The intense media market. The fan base he described Tuesday as “straightforward” and “passionate.”
Yet Walker welcomes the challenge. The biggest lessons from his father, he said, have been about how to handle adversity and to seize opportunity.
Right now, that is on a two-way contract. Which means he arrives with motivation to turn that into a full deal, while making an impact at a position that his new team needs.
“Nothing really changes as far as my work ethic,” he said. “Everything I’ve done to get here just continues.”