When 8EYE walked into the gym on Sunday, there was something glaringly different about the squad: it didn’t have an NBA big man.
All weekend, 8EYE has featured Philadelphia 76ers center Paul Reed, and Memphis Grizzlies forward Isaiah Todd. It didn’t matter, though, as one phone call led to a 40-point replacement for the two.
Dallas Mavericks guard Jordan “Jelly” Walker suited up for 8EYE on Sunday to send them to the Rumph final, point guard Vinny Simpson’s fourth-straight, with a 100-94 win in a rematch against Basketball Finders.
Jelly got off to a slow start scoring eight first-half points and being told to pass the ball by some observers. As the game was winding down, though, Walker took matters into his own hands.
In the second half, Walker caught fire from beyond the arc and nailed several clutch threes on the way to his 40-point performance.
Walker had a pretty simple answer when asked what’s his mentality in clutch moments: “Kill.”
“I don’t care about how many shots I miss,” Walker said. “I know how many I can make.”
Walker, a national social media sensation as part of Jelly Fam while at The Patrick School, played his college ball at Seton Hall, Tulane and UAB.
After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft, he played Summer League ball for the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 13 points.
Walker signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Mavericks in June.
