PHOTO | CURTIS WILSON

Kemba Walker is 20 points shy of Dell Curry's Charlotte Hornets record for points scored in a career.

Kemba Walker is a self-made elite point guard.

The Charlotte Hornets’ two-time All-Star does not possess physically imposing gifts or natural athleticism that could propel his success over the last two seasons. Despite his physical limitations, Walker is on the verge of making Hornets (34-41) history. His 31-point performance, including three buckets from beyond the arc in overtime in Monday’s 137-128 win against New York (27-48) put him 20 shy of becoming Charlotte’s all-time leading scorer. The win also marks the second time this season Charlotte has won four consecutive games. He’ll surpass Dell Curry’s franchise record of 9,839 points after already claiming the crown from Curry for career three-pointers earlier this season (1,014).

“It dawned on me, even when I was 100 points back,” Walker said. “It’s just an unbelievable feeling for me to be this close to being the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. It’s crazy.”

Said coach Steve Clifford: “He is not a super talent now for this league. He’s small. He’s self-made. He was the best player in college basketball, but a lot of his gifts are intangibles—great toughness, cares about his teammates, the things that make your team good, the things that make you win. He has a winning mentality. He has courage at the end of the game, but physical gifts? Even in this league now, it’s not like he is this incredible athlete with length. He has good speed and quickness, but certainly his work ethic has been the thing that has made him such a good player.”

Clifford noted the high regard people around the league hold Walker in, including San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.

“He has a plan,” Clifford said. “He’s very determined, and he works at it. This is what coach Pop said to me about him last year, ‘you always have a chance to be a good team when your best player looks to make the right play versus scoring. There’s nothing in this league that kills this team more than selfishness.’ That was Pop, who obviously is the epitome of unselfish team play in San Antonio. That’s how [Kemba] is viewed by other people.”

Said guard Jeremy Lamb, who won the national championship with Walker at Connecticut in 2010-11: “Just seeing from college how he never settles, he always wants to get better, you see it on the court.”

Walker averages 23.1 points per game, shooting 39.4 percent from beyond the arc and 43.4 percent from the field. He also has 416 assists. He averaged 23.2 points per game, 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and shot 44.4 percent from the field last season. Improving his shot has been Walker’s primary focus throughout his seven seasons with the Hornets. He shot 36.6 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from three point range his rookie season, but has worked with assistant coach Bruce Kruetzer to improve there.

“I work on my game all the time,” Walker said. “Especially in the summers. I try my best to get better. I try my best to work on my weaknesses as much as I can for the upcoming season. Throughout my career, early on in my career, shooting was one of my biggest weaknesses. I knew I had to become a better shooter.”

Said Clifford: “He’s made as much progress as a player as anybody in the last 10-12 years. All the best players improve every year. Look at LeBron [James] compared to when he was a rookie. Look at Dwayne Wade. All the great ones improve. They work on something.”

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