Rex Walters

---

title: "Rex Walters" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1970-births", "living-people", "20th-century-american-sportsmen", "21st-century-american-sportsmen", "american-men's-basketball-coaches", "american-men's-basketball-players", "american-people-of-japanese-descent", "sportspeople-of-japanese-descent", "basketball-coaches-from-nebraska", "basketball-players-from-omaha,-nebraska", "basketball-players-from-san-jose,-california", "cb-gran-canaria-players", "charlotte-hornets-assistant-coaches", "college-men's-basketball-head-coaches-in-the-united-states", "detroit-pistons-assistant-coaches", "florida-atlantic-owls-men's-basketball-coaches", "grand-rapids-drive-coaches", "kansas-jayhawks-men's-basketball-players", "kansas-city-knights-players", "liga-acb-players", "miami-heat-players", "nevada-wolf-pack-men's-basketball-coaches", "new-jersey-nets-draft-picks", "new-jersey-nets-players", "new-orleans-pelicans-assistant-coaches", "northwestern-wildcats-men's-basketball-players", "philadelphia-76ers-players", "san-francisco-dons-men's-basketball-coaches", "shooting-guards", "valparaiso-beacons-men's-basketball-coaches", "wake-forest-demon-deacons-men's-basketball-coaches"] description: "American basketball player and coach" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_Walters" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American basketball player and coach ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox basketball biography"]

Field	Value
name	Rex Walters
height_ft	6
height_in	3
weight_lb	230
birth_date
birth_place	Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
high_school	Independence
(San Jose, California)
college	* Northwestern (1988–1990)
draft_year	1993
draft_round	1
draft_pick	16th overall
draft_team	New Jersey Nets
career_start	1993
career_end	2003
career_position	Shooting guard
career_number	2, 3, 23
coach_start	2003
years1	–
team1	New Jersey Nets
years2	–
team2	Philadelphia 76ers
years3	–
team3	Miami Heat
years4	2000
team4	Baloncesto León
years5
team5	Kansas City Knights
years6	2001–2002
team6	CB Gran Canaria
cyears1	2002–2003
cteam1	Blue Valley NW HS (assistant)
cyears2	2003–2005
cteam2	Valparaiso (assistant)
cyears3	2005–2006
cteam3	Florida Atlantic (assistant)
cyears4	2006–2008
cteam4	Florida Atlantic
cyears5	2008–2016
cteam5	San Francisco
cyears6	2016–2017
cteam6	Grand Rapids Drive
cyears7
cteam7	Detroit Pistons (assistant)
cyears8	2018–2019
cteam8	Nevada (special assistant)
cyears9	2019–2020
cteam9	Wake Forest (assistant)
cyears10
cteam10	New Orleans Pelicans (assistant)
cyears11	–
cteam11	Charlotte Hornets (assistant)
highlights	As player:
stats_league	NBA
stat1label	Points
stat1value	1,547 (4.6 ppg)
stat2label	Rebounds
stat2value	403 (1.2 rpg)
stat3label	Assists
stat3value	569 (1.7 apg)
::

| name = Rex Walters | image = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 3 | weight_lb = 230 | league = | team = | position = | birth_date = | birth_place = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | high_school = Independence (San Jose, California) | college = * Northwestern (1988–1990)

• Kansas (1991–1993) | draft_year = 1993 | draft_round = 1 | draft_pick = 16th overall | draft_team = New Jersey Nets | career_start = 1993 | career_end = 2003 | career_position = Shooting guard | career_number = 2, 3, 23 | coach_start = 2003 | coach_end = | years1 = – | team1 = New Jersey Nets | years2 = – | team2 = Philadelphia 76ers | years3 = – | team3 = Miami Heat | years4 = 2000 | team4 = Baloncesto León | years5 = | team5 = Kansas City Knights | years6 = 2001–2002 | team6 = CB Gran Canaria | cyears1 = 2002–2003 | cteam1 = Blue Valley NW HS (assistant) | cyears2 = 2003–2005 | cteam2 = Valparaiso (assistant) | cyears3 = 2005–2006 | cteam3 = Florida Atlantic (assistant) | cyears4 = 2006–2008 | cteam4 = Florida Atlantic | cyears5 = 2008–2016 | cteam5 = San Francisco | cyears6 = 2016–2017 | cteam6 = Grand Rapids Drive | cyears7 = | cteam7 = Detroit Pistons (assistant) | cyears8 = 2018–2019 | cteam8 = Nevada (special assistant) | cyears9 = 2019–2020 | cteam9 = Wake Forest (assistant) | cyears10 = | cteam10 = New Orleans Pelicans (assistant) | cyears11 = – | cteam11 = Charlotte Hornets (assistant) | highlights = As player:
• 2× First-team All-Big Eight (1992, 1993) As coach:
• WCC Coach of the Year (2014) | stats_league = NBA | stat1label = Points | stat1value = 1,547 (4.6 ppg) | stat2label = Rebounds | stat2value = 403 (1.2 rpg) | stat3label = Assists | stat3value = 569 (1.7 apg) Rex Andrew Walters Sr. (born March 12, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who last served as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously, he was the associate head coach at Wake Forest University under Danny Manning. Prior to Wake Forest, he spent time at Nevada under Eric Musselman. He has made head coaching stops with the Grand Rapids Drive (NBA G-League), the University of San Francisco and Florida Atlantic University.

Walters pedigree for coaching began as a player, receiving tutelage from some of the game legendary coaches. Roy Williams at the University of Kansas and the NBA's Chuck Daly, Larry Brown and Pat Riley all mentored Walters during his years as a player. Walters played college basketball at Northwestern and [[Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball| Kansas]]. In 1993, he received a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the University of Kansas. After Kansas, he played professionally for ten years, including seven seasons in the NBA from 1993 to 2000. Walters has been active on Apple Podcasts hosting his own show Real Talk Basketball with Rex Walters.

Biography

Born in Omaha, Nebraska on March 12, 1970, Walters played high school basketball at Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose, California, but graduated from Independence High School in San Jose, California. Walters is biracial; his mother is Japanese and his father is white. In an interview with Rick Quan, Rex Walters responded to the question of feeling that he was a pioneer for Asian Americans. He responded: "I consider myself Japanese-American. I just don't look it. People are always surprised. Now we got a guy like Jeremy Lin breaking barriers, I'd like to think I played a small part in that". He later added, "People ask me who I am? What I am? I am a Japanese-American, I take great pride in that." Walters is known as a hard working, selfless person with a great passion to motivate and lead others. Walters daughter, Addison Walters is currently with the Minnesota Timberwolves staff serving as a Video Associate.

College playing career

Northwestern

(1988–1990) Walters played at Northwestern University (1988–1990) and was All Big 10 honorable mention leading the team in scoring.

Kansas

(1990–1993) In 1990, he transferred to Kansas, playing two seasons. In 68 starts under Roy Williams, he averaged 15.6 points per game, leading the Jayhawks in scoring during both his junior and senior campaigns. KU combined to go 56–12 overall in 1991–92 and 1992–93, winning back-to-back Big Eight titles and reaching the 1993 Final Four. Walters was named to the All-Big Eight team both seasons and was Big Eight Male Athlete of the Year as a senior in 1993. As a junior, Walters averaged 16.0 points per game as the Jayhawks went 27–5. In his senior season, KU had a record of 29–7, with Walters scoring at a clip of 15.3 points per game.

Walters was an outstanding scorer from all areas of the court at Kansas, shooting nearly 51% from the field, 42% from three-point range and 85% at the free throw line. The 6'4" shooting guard was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 16th pick in the 1993 NBA draft.

Playing career (Professional)

Walters’ professional playing career spanned 10 seasons, including seven seasons in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets (1993–95), Philadelphia 76ers (1995–98) and Miami Heat (1998–2000). He also had stints with Baloncesto Leon (2000), the Kansas City Knights (2000–01; 2002–03) and CB Gran Canaria (2001–02).

The New Jersey Nets selected Walters with the 16th overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft. As a rookie, Walters led the team in field goal percentage (.522) and hit 14 of 28 three-point attempts. His role expanded in 1994–95 and his statistics improved in nearly every category.

In 1995–96, Walters was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers and started the last eight games of the season. He played in 59 games for Philadelphia in 1996–97, making 16 starts behind Allen Iverson and Jerry Stackhouse. He led the team in three-point shooting with a .385 mark while averaging 6.8 points a game. He played in 38 games in 1997–98, splitting the season between Philadelphia and Miami, which signed him after he was waived by the Sixers in January of ’98. He appeared in 33 games (13 starts) for the Heat in 1998–99 and averaged 3.1 points a game. After leaving the NBA, Walters played for León and Gran Canaria in Spain. In addition to his playing career, Walters had a minor role in the 1994 film Blue Chips starring Nick Nolte and Shaquille O'Neal.

Coaching career

(2002–2003) Blue Valley NW High School, Assistant Coach, qualifying for the Kansas Class 6A State Tournament.

(2003–2005) Valparaiso University, Assistant Coach accomplishing much with head coach Homer Drew. The Crusaders were the Mid Continent Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champions (2004) advancing to the 2004 NCAA tournament. Walters was ranked the 20th best assistant basketball coach in the country at the mid-major level by The Hoop Scoop online in 2005.

(2006–2008) Florida Atlantic University, Head Coach.

(2008–2016) The University of San Francisco, Head Coach. April 15, 2008 Walters was hired to replace Eddie Sutton who was hired to replace Jesse Evans.

(2016–2017) On June 29, 2016, Walters was named the head coach of the Grand Rapids Drive. Two players were called up to the Detroit Pistons during his time, Jordan Crawford and Ray McCallum.

(2017–2018) On July 1, 2017, Walters was named an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons. Working for Stan Van Gundy the Detroit Pistons had a defensive rating of 10th in the NBA.

(2018–2019) Walters was hired by Eric Musselman as Special Assistant to the head coach at Nevada. The Wolf Pack were pre-season #5 in the nation, Mountain West Conference Champions and a 7 seed in the 2018 NCAA tournament.

(2019–2020) Walters joined the Wake Forest basketball program in May 2019 as an Associate Head Coach under Danny Manning.

(2020–2021) On November 16, 2020, Walters was hired as assistant coach by the New Orleans Pelicans.

(2022–2024) On August 2, 2022, Walters was hired as an assistant coach by the Charlotte Hornets.

(2025-Present) On August 13, 2025, Walters was hired as head coach at Regis University in Colorado. {{Cite web |title=Rangers Hire Rex Walters as Head Men's Basketball Coach |url=https://regisrangers.com/news/2025/8/13/rangers-hire-rex-walters-as-head-mens-basketball-coach.aspx |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=www.regisrangers.com |language=en}}

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey | 48 || 0 || 8.0 || .522 || .500 || .824 || .8 || 1.5 || .3 || .1 || 3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey | 80 || 30 || 17.9 || .439 || .362 || .769 || 1.2 || 1.5 || .5 || .2 || 6.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey | 11 || 0 || 7.9 || .364 || .250 || 1.000 || .6 || 1.0 || .3 || .0 || 3.0 |-

| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 33 || 8 || 15.8 || .426 || .352 || .783 || 1.8 || 1.9 || .5 || .1 || 4.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 59 || 16 || 17.6 || .455 || .385 || .790 || 1.8 || 1.9 || .5 || .1 || 6.8 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 19 || 0 || 6.7 || .379 || .214 || 1.000 || .5 || 1.1 || .3 || .0 || 2.2 |-

| style="text-align:left;"|Miami | 19 || 0 || 5.7 || .542 || .375 || .818 || .8 || .7 || .2 || .1 || 2.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Miami | 33 || 13 || 15.3 || .368 || .316 || .826 || 1.5 || 1.8 || .3 || .1 || 3.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Miami | 33 || 0 || 11.8 || .418 || .250 || .750 || 1.1 || 2.0 || .2 || .0 || 2.8 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 335 || 67 || 13.7 || .441 || .361 || .809 || 1.2 || 1.7 || .4 || .1 || 4.6

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"|1994 | style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey | 1 || 0 || 1.0 || 1.000 || — || — || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 2.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1999 | style="text-align:left;"|Miami | 3 || 0 || 4.3 || .000 || .000 || — || .0 || 1.3 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 4 || 0 || 3.5 || .250 || .000 || — || .0 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .5

Head coaching record

|type=coach |conference= |postseason= |poll=no |name=Florida Atlantic Owls |startyear=2006 |conference=Sun Belt Conference |endyear=2008 |}} | championship = | season = 2006–07 | name = Florida Atlantic | overall = 16–15 | conference = 10–8 | confstanding = 3rd (East) | postseason = | championship = | season = 2007–08 | name = Florida Atlantic | overall = 15–18 | conference = 8–10 | confstanding = 4th (East) | postseason = | name = Florida Atlantic | overall = 31–33 () | confrecord = 18–18 () |name=San Francisco Dons |startyear=2008 |conference=West Coast Conference |endyear=2016 |}} | championship = | season = 2008–09 | name = San Francisco | overall = 11–19 | conference = 3–11 | confstanding = 7th | postseason = | championship = | season = 2009–10 | name = San Francisco | overall = 12–18 | conference = 7–7 | confstanding = T–4th | postseason = | championship = | season = 2010–11 | name = San Francisco | overall = 19–15 | conference = 10–4 | confstanding = 3rd | postseason = CIT Quarterfinals | championship = | season = 2011–12 | name = San Francisco | overall = 20–14 | conference = 8–8 | confstanding = 5th | postseason = CBI first round | championship = | season = 2012–13 | name = San Francisco | overall = 14–15 | conference = 7–9 | confstanding = 5th | postseason = | championship = | season = 2013–14 | name = San Francisco | overall = 21–12 | conference = 13–5 | confstanding = 2nd | postseason = NIT first round | championship = | season = 2014–15 | name = San Francisco | overall = 14–18 | conference = 7–11 | confstanding = 6th | postseason = | championship = | season = 2015–16 | name = San Francisco | overall = 15–15 | conference = 8–10 | confstanding = 5th | postseason = | name = San Francisco | overall = 126–125 () | confrecord = 63–65 () |overall=157–158 ()

References

References

1. (June 29, 2016). "Pistons announce Grand Rapids Drive's new head coach, D-League team's GM".
2. "Pistons tab a 'basketball junkie' in Rex Walters to coach D-League affiliate Drive".
3. "Rex Walters – Men's Basketball Coach".
4. "Rex Walters – Men's Basketball Coach".
5. Packey. (2016-06-30). "Pistons hire Rex Walters as new coach of Grand Rapids Drive".
6. "Rex Walters – Men's Basketball Coach".
7. "Real Talk Basketball With Rex Walters on Apple Podcasts".
8. "Rex Walters". Basketball-Reference.com.
9. Hua, Vanessa. (April 10, 2006). "Asian American basketball leagues boost game skills and ethnic pride". San Francisco Chronicle.
10. (May 5, 2011). "Rex Walters".
11. "Minnesota Timberwolves Announce Coaching Staff Additions".
12. "1988–89 Northwestern Wildcats Roster and Stats".
13. (April 20, 2005). "Walters Added to Doherty's Staff: Former Kansas and NBA player joins men's basketball staff". CSTV Networks, Inc..
14. TN, Streamline Technologies {{!}} Nashville. "Former Valpo Assistant Named Head Coach at FAU".
15. (2021-08-14). "Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball". Wikipedia.
16. "Rex Walters – Men's Basketball Coach".
17. Chu, Bryan. (April 14, 2008). "USF Hires Rex Walters". [[San Francisco Chronicle]].
18. (2008-02-26). "Purdy: The confusing union of Eddie Sutton and USF".
19. (June 29, 2016). "Grand Rapids Drive gets new head coach, GM".
20. "Pistons hire Rex Walters as assistant coach".
21. "2017–18 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats".
22. (November 16, 2020). "Pelicans announce 2020–21 coaching staff".
23. "Charlotte Hornets Finalize Coaching Staff".

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