Samaki Walker provided his son with a ‘foundation.’ Now with Sixers, Jabari can ‘figure some of this basketball stuff out’

Samaki Walker first thought his son had a chance to make good on his basketball dreams during his senior year of high school in 2019-20.

After watching three years of underwhelming development at a prestigious academic school, Samaki decided to send his son to a prep school in hopes of accelerating his growth as a basketball player. His son was essentially a non-prospect as far as college basketball was concerned. This would be an opportunity for him, but he would face much better athletes. The competition would be in a different stratosphere than what he was used to.

Samaki's son had only been focused on scoring in an environment in which that was enough. In this brave new world, he would have to do a whole lot more to survive.

He struggled at first. For the first time in his life, he was coming off the bench. He complained about the politics of it all. Samaki told him he did not want to hear any complaints. He just wanted to see his son impact the game.

Something clicked. Samaki remembers the game like it was yesterday.

"He kind of listened to what I said," Samaki told PhillyVoice in a phone interview last week. "The very next game, he had, like, eight points, but he had, like, 15 rebounds and four blocks and some deflections and steals… I always told him the game was about impact. But it's hard telling young kids because of Ballislife and all the highlights and things. So my message was constantly in contention with that, the external forces. And so he listened. He was excited. He got player of the game."

Samaki got a phone call from his son. After years of resisting the urge to reinforce all of his son's habits – and instead helping him form new ones – Samaki could tell it had paid off.

"Hey, Dad. Man, wow," Samaki's son told him. "It's not really all about just scoring and things of that nature."

Samaki was satisfied; more importantly, his son was on the right path.

"And after that, he started to play free basketball," Samaki said. "It wasn't just about scoring. He started to move without the ball, do all the little things that mattered. And that's when I said, OK, the kid has a chance.’ And that's all you can ask for. He has a chance.”

Samaki has always relished the chance to direct his son in the direction of adversity. It was the only way to make him better. And sure enough, once his son faced better players and made those necessary adjustments to his game, his prospects grew.

Before that revelatory season, Samaki's son had one collegiate offer. It was from a local community college. He was "adamant" about jumping at the chance to play college basketball, no matter what level it was. But his father knew that if his son could sharpen his tools just a little bit, greater opportunities would be on the horizon.

Samaki's vision came to fruition. His son started to turn heads.

"Right after that," Samaki said, "he's got several [college] coaches calling, asking, [sending] letters. He's getting recruited."

Just like that, Jabari Walker's dreams felt reachable.

What did Sixers two-way forward Jabari Walker, now a 23-year-old entering his fourth NBA season, dream of? The answer is simple: being like his father.

The No. 9 overall pick in the legendary 1996 NBA Draft, Samaki spent 10 years in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers, winning a championship with Los Angeles in 2001-02.

“I credit a lot of my success to having an NBA father," Jabari told PhillyVoice earlier this month. "Just [prioritizing] routine and him preparing me and what we did growing up, I think it continues to apply to me today. So even though the NBA has changed completely, I think just the foundation that we had, I could always just go back to what my foundation was. If something's not working, it's like, ‘OK, let's go back to that routine and things I remember as a kid.’ I'm used to that feeling of what it feels like to get better and continue to work.”

The key word there is "foundation." It is a word that carries a lot of weight with Samaki, just like "adversity" does. Another word that Jabari has heard from his father a whole lot: "platform." What does all of it mean?

“First and foremost, you know, it's always bigger than basketball," Samaki said. "Basketball is a platform. One thing I taught Jabari, just like it was taught to me: I taught him basketball is a platform, and it can take you around the world. Those were my first words I heard from my father when he introduced basketball to me… [Jabari uses] the word ‘foundation’ because it's a word that I threw around a lot when [my kids] were younger.

"My responsibility was to build the foundation, so that once nature forces them out of the nest, and they go work out with different coaches, trainers, things of that nature, learn different philosophies, the foundation will be established. That was more just from a fundamental base.

"Obviously, I knew they would work with many trainers, player development coaches, whatever the title may be. It was my responsibility to make sure he had a keen understanding of how basketball was played, what's being asked of a specific role, and making sure that all the mental aspects – the cerebral approach to basketball – was fully understood.”

When Jabari became a teenager, it was clear that his path to the NBA would feature more obstacles than his father's did. Finally processing that cerebral approach to the game was the first major step in his development. It led Jabari to the University of Colorado, where a stellar sophomore season catapulted him into NBA Draft consideration.

The 2022 NBA Draft featured 58 selections, and Jabari landed with the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 57 overall. Unlike many players drafted that late, Jabari was immediately signed to a standard contract. He spent three years on Portland's roster before becoming a free agent this summer, eventually landing in Philadelphia on a two-way pact with the Sixers.

That time in Portland was a "learning experience" for Jabari, his father believes. Jabari did not just learn what he can do to stick at this level, but also what he can no longer get away with. Jabari received an outpouring of praise from people around Portland amid his departure; his courtesy off the court made a lasting impression.

"At the end of the day, we're all human beings," Samaki said. "And that's the one thing that we strive for as far as the family value system, is to understand that regardless of what title you become – maybe you might become many titles throughout your lifetime – at the most fundamental level, you're a human being, and it's very paramount that you understand that profoundly. And Jabari has done a good job of making sure that he understands that."

The pride in Samaki's voice is palpable when he talks about the person Jabari has become off the floor. But on the floor, there is still work to be done – and it is tied to his kindhearted nature.

"I've also told him that being a good guy in this sport is not enough," Samaki said. "…It's one in which you got to stay on top of your game and just being a good guy is not enough. And this is something that he's learning now. In Portland, he was a very good guy, he was very well-liked, but in the dog-eat-dog world of basketball, you’ve got to have split personalities, and you’ve got to understand that and know how to execute both when one is needed in a particular situation.

When Tyrese Maxey is blitzed, screener Jabari Walker gets the ball in a 4-on-3 situation.
Walker works it perfectly. He collapses the defense, manipulates Deuce McBride (#2) into defending the corner and kicks the ball out to an open VJ Edgecombe for a high-arcing three-pointer: pic.twitter.com/brbaoW47Mw

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) October 5, 2025

"That side that you hear with Jabari now – him willing to be human to sit and talk to people, he cares about what people think, he feels other people's emotions – I really love that part about my son. Now, we still need to figure some of this basketball stuff out, though, because he’s a good kid, but being a good kid doesn't get you a job in the NBA or keep your job secure in the NBA. And that's where we are.”

Many NBA players with NBA fathers experience NBA success naturally. Samaki lasted 10 years in the league, but only twice in his career did he start at least 20 games in a season. He made a conscious decision as he raised Jabari to pull no punches about the successes and failures of his career. He wanted his son to learn.

“Look, I'm not going to try to look perfect in your eyes," Samaki told his son. "I want you to see everything that made me who I am: The things that were good, the things that were bad, and hopefully you could stay away from the things that didn't provide anything purposeful for me or were a distraction."

Like his father back in the day, Jabari's future is probably as a role player. He lights up when asked about short-roll decision-making or the development of his spot-up three-point shot. The art of starring in a role is something Jabari has embraced.

In some ways, it was a responsibility passed down to him.

"I think he's fine with being a role player, but the one thing I don't want him to do is – it’s one thing when you accept a role, and there's another thing getting too comfortable," Samaki said. "And there's a fine line. And Jabari's at a stage right now where he's learning what it takes to stay in this league.

"He came in, he walked into a little money and a whole lot of freedom. And it's kind of hard for a kid to juggle that, to be honest, to figure things out. To be honest, most of our conversations were geared towards him maturing, finding out what the league is about, making sure that his habits add up to what his goals are. Because that's usually why most players fail: it's the disconnection between their goals and what their habits are."

Samaki believes his son has always been at his best when his back is against the wall. Now, Jabari finds himself on a two-way deal, where he will split time between the NBA and the G League. It is Jabari's last year of two-way eligibility; in other words, this is his last solid chance to prove that he deserves a long-term role with an NBA team.

Samaki believes his son must "pick up that bravado that it takes to survive" in the NBA, and maybe the G League is the right setting for that.

If there was ever a timely chance for Jabari to face adversity head-on, break through and emerge on the other side, it would be now.

"Jabari does well when you keep the carrot out in front of him. He doesn't do too good when he's comfortable, to be honest," Samaki said. "…So I need a little adversity, a little bit of carrot-dangling out in front, and I'm hoping that this G League will give him all of those nights down there, watching guys who are trying to really make it, who didn't have a guaranteed contract like he did when he first came in the league, but guys who are struggling to get in and just trying to make it, and are killing in the G League, but still can't get up and play on a two-way.

"He needs to see all of that, so he gets a better understanding, a better perspective of how hard it is to play in this league.”

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