Chico Walker saw a different side of his nephew this Fourth of July weekend. It wasn’t a three-time All-Star shimmying on the court. It wasn’t the centerpiece of several legal troubles, either.

Instead he saw Antoine Walker, a humbled athlete fighting to overcome his lapses in judgment and restart his NBA career at age 34.

“He said, ‘I made a lot of mistakes,’” Chico Walker, a former member of the Red Sox, recalled during Alumni Day at Fenway Park. “[He said,] ‘I made a lot of mistakes and I trusted the wrong people. I realized going forward I have to have positive people around me, just in life period. I have to have a lot of positive people around.’ And I think now he gets it.”

Antoine Walker’s name has been in the news for all the wrong reasons over the last few years. He has endured a DUI charge, reports of gambling debt, real estate gone bad and a bankruptcy filing in May.

Chico Walker believes his nephew’s giving nature ended up hurting him in the long run. While Antoine made his share of mistakes, Chico says there is more to some of the reports. He points to real estate in Chicago as an example, noting Antoine’s name and money were attached to properties he had never even seen before.

“He has definitely learned his lesson,“ Chico said. “You can’t trust everyone. Antoine is a guy, he’s always giving, giving, giving. He’s a very free-hearted type of person. But he trusted the wrong people.”

Now as Antoine attempts a comeback in the NBA, he turned to someone he has trusted over the years. Antoine has spent his summer working out at the University of Louisville with Rick Pitino, his coach at the University of Kentucky and on the Celtics, and the Cardinals basketball team.

Chico estimates Antoine has dropped between 18 and 25 pounds as he continues to improve his conditioning under Pitino‘s watch. “Four to six” teams, he said, have already expressed interest in the forward, who is fighting to land an NBA roster spot for the first time since 2008 when he received a buyout from the Grizzlies.

Antoine Walker is also fighting to shed a negative image, one that led to being released from his most recent team, the Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico.

“Initially it was extremely, extremely tough for him,” Chico said. “He tried to go to Puerto Rico, try to get away from it, but it followed him there as well. That wasn’t good for his surroundings over there. … It was just a little bit too much negative publicity that the team didn’t want to deal with, and he understood that.”

It’s not an easy reality to accept, but Antoine understands the consequences of his mistakes. Instead of being a player who teams are rushing to snatch up for their proven experience, he is a veteran who has to prove he still has a place in the league.

Despite his past accolades, which include a career average of 17.5 points and 7.7 rebounds over 12 seasons, he has to work just as hard as an unsigned rookie who has yet to play in the NBA.

“He’s definitely looking to go into training camp, but he knows it’s not going to be a guaranteed contract,” said Chico. “He’s going to have to go in and make a team, and he understands that. That’s where he is in terms of his conditioning. He knows he has to go in there and earn a spot. Nothing’s going to be given to him regardless of what he’s done in the past.

“I think the main concern is that this other stuff is going to follow him around. Is that going to be a deterring factor for a lot of teams? Hopefully not because basketball-wise, I still think he has a little bit to give to the game. But he has to go in and he has to show that. Nothing’s going to be given to him at this point.”

Even though the Celtics have not been among the teams to contact their former All-Star, Antoine Walker still has a special place in his heart for the city of Boston. Chico, who spent nine years in the Red Sox system, appreciates the impact C’s fans have made on Antoine. He hopes the fans will see the humble, appreciative side of his nephew.

“In terms of the fans, he loved them, he loved being in Boston,” said Chico. “He knows in order for him to get back in good graces, even with the fans, he has to walk that straight and narrow. Fans in Boston have always been great to him, and that’s what he has to realize.”

There is a lot for Antoine to realize if he wants to make it in the NBA again. There are the tried-and-true on-the-court disciplines - hard work, sacrifice, dedication, commitment - and then there are the issues that arise after the final buzzer sounds.

“I think at this point in his life and in his career, he’s learned a lot,” Chico said. “In order for him to go forward in life, mainly, and if he’s going to continue to play basketball, he has to realize he can’t continue to make the same mistakes that he made in the past.”