MIAMI -- Antoine Walker is used to being a target.
He's been a lightning rod for criticism at every stop in his NBA career -- Boston, Atlanta, Dallas and Miami. Hearing a sporadic boo or two from fans hasn't been an uncommon occurrence. And he was briefly suspended last season by coach Heat coach Pat Riley over missed conditioning goals.
Walker accepts all that, knowing it comes with the job. But being a target in your own home -- not knowing if you're going to live or die -- is something no one is ever prepared for, and that's the situation Walker found himself in one day this summer.
"The one place you always feel safe at is in your home," Walker said.
That wasn't the case in the early evening of July 9.
As he was leaving the house in his native Chicago, four masked robbers attacked. They bound Walker and another person with duct tape, holding them at gunpoint while rummaging through the home, eventually leaving with cash and jewelry and using one of Walker's luxury cars to get away.
"You never know what guys with guns will do to you in that type of situation," Walker said. "Luckily I was able to remain calm and they got out, an in-and-out kind of situation. The longest 15 or 20 minutes of my life. But you move on."
You also move out; Walker hasn't slept at that house since and is currently trying to sell the property.
Four suspects have since been indicted on charges of robbery, home invasion with a firearm and aggravated kidnapping. All have pleaded not guilty, and two of the suspects in the Walker case are also accused of committing a similar robbery at the home of New York Knicks forward Eddy Curry in a Chicago suburb this summer.
Walker left the Chicago area for a couple of weeks afterward, both out of concern for his safety and to clear his head. Now he's at his regular-season home in Miami, getting set for another year with the Heat and saying the robbery is behind him.
"Just moving on," Walker said. "Happy to be here, playing basketball, doing what I love to do."
The 31-year-old forward who played a key role in Miami's run to the 2006 NBA championship is entering his 12th season, the third with the Heat. He'd been a starter in all but 15 games of his pro career before coming to Miami, where he's come off the bench in all but 34 of his 160 regular-season appearances.
