Jazz’s Walker Kessler Sounds Off on ‘Up-And-Down’ 2nd Season

The Utah Jazz center had some trials and tribulations during his second year pro.

The regular season is officially wrapped up for the Utah Jazz, now calling it a wrap for 2023-24 and finishing with a 31-51 overall record. While the year as a whole saw its fair share of bumps in the road, the end of it makes for a perfect time to take a look back and analyze some of the happenings in Salt Lake City.

Of those to suit up for the Jazz this year, none might have had a more fascinating season than second-year center Walker Kessler. After bolting onto the scene and finishing his strong year one campaign as a Rookie of the Year finalist, we didn't see any tremendous leaps in his minutes per game or counting stats going into year two.

Kessler spoke on his second year in Utah during his end-of-season presser, where he recognized the challenges he faced and a desire to get better for year three.

"Definitely was an interesting year," Kessler said. "I think, personally, saw the hills and valleys. A lot of ups and downs, but I learned a lot this year. Learned a lot about myself, learned a lot about my team. Just trying to go into the offseason, taking what I can from this season and trying to improve."

In 64 games, Kessler posted averages of 8.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game, an increase of just 0.3 minutes from his first season. Due to a combination of unfortunate injury luck and new frontcourt additions like John Collins and Taylor Hendricks entering the fold, it added to an already existing challenge of avoiding the infamous "sophomore slump."

Thankfully for Walker, the year proved to be an immensely valuable learning experience for his young NBA career. He continued in his presser to describe what he learned about himself across the season, dishing the sentiment of keeping his head up when times get tough.

"I learned that I need to give myself a lot of grace," Kessler said. "I did a lot better of that towards the end of the year. And understanding that the path to being the best possible player I can be is not going to be straight 'going up.' Understanding not to be discouraged by difficult times, or times where I don't get what I'm supposed to get."

Despite the tough year, Kessler hasn't lost confidence in this core. He later went to praise his teammates amid a turbulent season, describing that the guys are "hungry" to get better across the summer.

"We've obviously had a tough year towards the end of the year, but I think that a lot of these guys are very hungry," Kessler said. "I think a lot of these guys understand that it's going to take a lot of work, especially in the offseason. You can see it in how they work in this gym right here that they are hungry to get better, and that's all you can want going into the offseason."

Take a deep breath, Jazz Nation. Even after another losing season in the books, there's clear optimism within Salt Lake City. Expect some massive strides forward to be underway for this core heading into 2024-25.

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