EXCLUSIVE: Jordan ‘Jelly’ Walker Talks Mavs Training Camp, Idolizing Kyrie Irving

After playing well at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Jordan “Jelly” Walker signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks to give him an opportunity to do more at training camp. He spoke with our Mavs Step Back Podcast about it.

Dalton Trigg | Jul 30, 2023

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After going undrafted, Jordan “Jelly” Walker made the most of his opportunity with the Dallas Mavericks at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. In four games, Walker ended up being the Mavs’ second-leading scorer behind second-year guard Jaden Hardy, averaging 13 points and shooting an eye-popping 48.1 percent on 6.8 attempts from deep per game.

Now, Walker will have another chance to impress the Mavs, this time in training camp, as he hopes to work his way up from an Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way contract before the season begins.

On Wednesday, Walker joined our Mavs Step Back Podcast to talk about becoming a "girl dad" last week, his promising Summer League play, idolizing Kyrie Irving and now getting to compete with him at Mavs training camp, his mindset as he aims for that last two-way contract the Mavs have, other players he's molded his game after, and much more.

"The first person that comes to mind ... to me, my favorite player, Kyrie Irving," Walker said when asked about other players he's looked up to and tried to mold his game after. "Everybody who knows me, knows he's my favorite player. I've been a fan of him since I was probably 10 years old."

Walker was able to formally connect with his childhood idol in Las Vegas about two weeks ago, but Irving already knew who he was and was very familiar with his game from a pro-am tournament from two years ago.

"The first time I actually met [Kyrie] in person, I was playing in some pro-am [league] in New Jersey two years ago," Walker said. "He was coaching the other team while I was playing against his team. ... He said, 'I know who you are, Mr. Player of the Year, I know who you are.' When he said that, I was like 'he really knows who I am.' That was a surreal moment for me."

You can watch or listen to our entire 30-minute interview with Walker below. We will have even more on DallasBasketball.com in the coming days.

As always, thanks for listening! Be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for a chance to win future giveaways. Also, be sure to download the Playback app to join our FREE Mavs watch parties for every single game this upcoming season.

Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter. SUBSCRIBE to Mavs Step Back on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here. Follow DallasBasketball.com on Twitter and Facebook.

Published Jul 30, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.