San Antonio Spurs: Lonnie Walker is already an easy player to root for

Lonnie Walker’s post-draft comments should make him a likable figure with San Antonio Spurs fans.

The San Antonio Spurs made Lonnie Walker IV the No. 18 pick of the 2018 NBA Draft. A shooting guard from Miami, he will give the backcourt another youthful presence that has the upside to become a solid perimeter defender, with the athleticism to couple with it on the offensive side of the ball.

Reactions poured in after the Spurs took Walker, but what about the comments from the player himself? He spoke to the media following the on-stage announcement from NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, and shined a spotlight on his character.

Via Tom Petrini of Project Spurs, Walker already wants to dive and throw his body around the floor for Gregg Popovich. He wants to do “whatever it takes” to win. If he brings this kind of effort to the table, Spurs fans should love this player.

“If Coach Popovich needs me to dive on the floor strictly, then I'll strictly dive on the floor. I'm going to do whatever it takes for us to get that win sooner than later, hopefully receive that championship.”-Lonnie Walker IV

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) June 22, 2018

Walker, from Reading, PA, even went personal, to speak about past troubles he and his mother had with food. With money on the way from a lucrative rookie-scale deal, he won’t need to worry about that anymore.

“People don’t understand where I’m from,” said Lonnie Walker, who led Reading to the PA state title as a senior 2 years ago. “I told my mom earlier today, we don’t have to worry about sharing a cheeseburger for dinner. We don’t have to worry about sharing Doritos for breakfast.”

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) June 22, 2018

How can you not root for that if you support the Silver and Black? Walker is a likable player that wants to put it all on the line to fulfill his championship desires. With five titles in the past 20 years in San Antonio, could he be part of the sixth sooner than later?

Aside from the basketball-related points, Walker is quite the conspiracy theorist. He questioned if the Earth is an “illusion” and if Adolf Hitler staged his suicide. Apparently, he came from the Kyrie Irving School of What Are You Thinking?

Catching up on @Mike_Schmitz's interviews with NBA Draft prospects. I truly respect Lonnie Walker IV's honest response to this question. ?? pic.twitter.com/9bvOgA2sCp

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 21, 2018

For an organization that’s usually quiet, maybe Walker’s conspiracies will make for some talking points in the 2018-19 season. Two games between the Spurs and Irving’s Boston Celtics could see a meeting of the minds, too.

Next: Top 25 players in SAS history

Either way, Walker seems, like, a likable player for San Antonio fans to get behind, even if the conspiracies will make some scratch their heads. It’s about what he does on the court, which everyone should receive a preview of in the summer league, pending the announcement of the rosters for July’s games.