Jabari Walker

Jabari Walker's Biography

Jabari Dominic Walker was born on July 30, 2002, and has made an impressive name for himself in the realm of professional basketball. As an American professional basketball player, Walker currently plays for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the son of Samaki Walker, a ten-year veteran NBA player.

Walker’s journey in basketball began with his high school years. He played basketball for three consecutive years for Campbell Hall School, which is situated in Los Angeles, California. However, in his senior year, Walker decided to make a change. He transferred to Chandler, Arizona’s AZ Compass Prep to complete his final high school year. In his senior year, Walker performed commendably, averaging thirteen points, eight rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in every game.

Besides playing basketball for his high school, Walker also competed for Dream Vision in the Amateur Athletic Union circuit. Following high school, Walker had to make a choice about his collegiate future. After receiving offers from California and Saint Mary’s, he committed to playing college basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes.

Through the span of his college years, Walker continually shone, demonstrating his aptitude for the game. He recorded a significant 23 points and eleven rebounds in an 89–60 win over California on January 14, 2021. Unfortunately, later in February, Walker had to step back from the game temporarily due to a foot injury. He missed six subsequent games. A month later, he made an impressive comeback. In the NCAA tournament’s first round, Walker scored a season-high of 24 points, shooting a perfect five from a three-point range, helping the Buffaloes clinch a 96–73 victory over Georgetown. As a freshman, he averaged 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, which earned him honors with the Pad-12 All-Freshman Team.

Walker’s athleticism continued to shine in his sophomore year. On January 25, 2022, he equaled his career-high score with 24 points in an 82–78 win over Oregon. Over this year, he averaged an impressive 14.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and was named to the first-team All-Pac-12. After his outstanding performance in only two years at college, Walker determined to take a leap into professional basketball. On March 30, 2022, he declared that he would enter the 2022 NBA draft while preserving his college eligibility, which he later forgoed when he signed with an agent.

Walker’s venture into the NBA started on a high note. He was chosen as the 57th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, where he also featured in their 2022 NBA Summer League team. In his Summer League debut, Walker displayed notable prowess, earning eleven points and seven rebounds albeit in an 81–78 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Following this, on July 13, 2022, Walker officially signed his rookie scale contract with the Trail Blazers.

Basketball runs in Walker’s family. His father, Samaki Walker, is a renowned NBA veteran who played in the NBA for ten long years. He isn’t the only one following his father’s footsteps. Walker’s older siblings are also basketball players; his brother, Dibaji, plays in the NBA G League for Cleveland Charge, and his sister, Sakima, plays basketball at South Carolina. It is clear that for Jabari Dominic Walker and his family, basketball is more than just a passion—it’s a way of life.