Kemba Walker's road to being named an All-Star starter was far more difficult than most granted that honor this season. The Charlotte Hornets point guard shot a hideous 36.6 percent from the field as a rookie, and many league analysts balked when he was awarded a relatively inexpensive four-year, $48 million contract in 2015. Was a six-foot ball handler with a career shooting percentage below 40 percent really worth the price tag of a starter?

Some four years later, Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak awarded Walker a commemorative basketball before Saturday's game against the Chicago Bulls to celebrate him being voted as an All-Star starter for the first time.

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Walker has never shied away from discussing self doubt stemming from the trials and tribulations of his first few years in the NBA. In an interview on TNT after learning he was an All-Star starter, the 28 year old almost couldn't believe his stunning turn of fortunes.

“It's kind of surreal. It's kind of surreal,” Walker told TNT. “I had a lot of doubt coming into my early career about just even being an elite point guard in this league. So for me to become an All-Star for two straight years and then now to become an All-Star starter most definitely proves the doubters wrong. So this is an unbelievable moment in my career.”

Making matters extra special is that this year's All-Star festivities are being held in Walker's adopted hometown of Charlotte, which could potentially serve as a fitting sendoff given the likelihood he signs elsewhere this summer.