After his basketball career, Kristaps Walters continues the Walters dynasty as a coach. “Sports studies” podcast #82 / Article

Of course, strong and individual personalities, such as the representatives of the Walter family, cannot do without relevant character traits, which both helped to open and close many doors behind them. The youngest of the Walter brothers – Kristaps – has not left basketball after his playing career. With a much more balanced outlook on life, he steps into the role of a coach step by step. Doors are no longer carved, but carefully opened.

Kristaps Walters could not pass up basketball and started his career as a professional already at the age of 17, when he represented “Brocēni”/LMT led by his father Valdas Walters for two seasons. At this stage of his career, he both trained and played together with the legendary basketball personality – Valdi Walters, whose potential on the basketball court was not fully appreciated at first.

“I was 16 or 17 years old. He’s over forty. He even got one game [kopīgi uzspēlēt]. It was really interesting. He had not forgotten to play at that time. He could easily play at the level of Latvia. As far as I understand, he scored eighty points in an LBL game when he was almost forty years old. It was interesting.

We also aim to play in three generations in the future. My son, me and him – in the future in the same team. It will be a case that rarely happens to any family,” Kristaps looks to the future with hope.

Kristaps talks about his future plans much more rationally, with ambitions, but the apparent wave of emotions of his youth has been restrained. Now, as a coach, Kristaps teaches young basketball players the basics of the game and takes training to the next level. A couple of years ago, he created the “Kristap Walters Basketball Academy”, but this year, after convincing his father, he also renewed the “Walters Basketball School”. The goals are absolutely ambitious, but it could not be otherwise. However, it is about the Walter family, which has always aimed for the stars.

In conversations with your students, you do not bypass or ignore what you have learned both on and off the field… “I can give them an example and tell them what not to do…” It’s no secret that in parallel with his talent on the field, Kristaps tackled life off it with equal vigor. It was like a piece of cake for the “yellow press”, which affected his image and also his performance in basketball. The culmination was reached in 2009, when after the European Championship, the Latvian Basketball Association disqualified several players for indiscipline and violations of the sports regime. Kristaps was also among them.

“You can’t run in all directions with the same power and energy and hope that it doesn’t leave any traces in your performance. Of course it does. It was youth. Do I regret my actions? Yes, but at the same time it allows me to better communicate with students and to tell about how important it is to follow the sports regime. To tell about the paths that can lead to undesirable outcomes,” says Kristaps in a fatherly manner.

There is another story in the work with the young talent forge Kristaps Azote. Much brighter. Also, one that he would have loved to have been covered by every possible media outlet at the time it happened. At the beginning of his career, when the first serious steps had already been taken, Kristaps had his sights set on the National Basketball Association. The road to the mecca of basketball began with showing up to teams and their scouts. After the season, Kristaps went to the USA, where he held public training sessions. Unfortunately, the end of the season and probably the many eyes of the NBA that were looking at him did not allow him to show his potential to the point where he could hear his name at the draft. However, Kristaps got his chance. With the opportunity to play in the NBA summer league, where teams check out young prospects. That’s how Kristaps ended up on the same team as the first pick of the 2003 draft… LeBron James.

“There was an option for Cleveland [doties]. The coach said, “Don’t worry. There’s sixteen players on that summer league team. Go. Fight.” I say – no problem. There’s LeBron James. The new one. Of course, all the attention in the team was on him. You [kā basketbolists] look at him – yes, he’s the number one draft pick, but you realize he’s three years younger than you, even though he looks ten years older than you. Giant muscles. Mentally ready,” Kristaps keeps the ball of memories.

Perhaps Kristaps helped LeBron become the player we know today – four-time NBA champion, four-time finals and season MVP, 18-time NBA All-Star, etc. Be that as it may, we can be sure of one thing – Kristaps let Lebron express himself. In one of the episodes of the summer league game, Kristaps gave a pass to LeBron, who, after catching the ball in the air, hit it in the basket – just as we are used to watching in the compilations of his brightest NBA game episodes.

“I went in a fast attack – two on one. I threw the ball up to him. He just had to bend down a little and put it in from above. It’s a cool emotion. [Tobrīd] I didn’t think about it, I’ll be honest, then nobody paid attention to it. Internet and television in Latvia at that time [vēl nebija tik attīstīta, lai šādas epizodes izceltu] as it is now that, for example, Kristaps Valters gives a pass to Lebron and the next day all of Latvia knows it. It started to be talked about only recently. That’s the funniest thing. It should have been talked about at that time,” says Kristaps.

Kristaps is now working on the development of young talents with the same dedication as in his days as a player. In addition, attracting his father and restoring the “Walter Basketball School”. This only proves the age-old saying that – Valteri was, is and will be a part of Latvian basketball.

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