Jazz C Walker Kessler Proved in Preseason Debut He Hasn’t Lost a Step

During Sunday’s Utah Jazz preseason opener in Hawaii, fans saw a nice collection of positives in the 101-96 win vs. the Los Angeles Clippers. Rookie G Keyonte George got some good runs, veteran G Kris Dunn showed out as the team’s leading scorer while coming off the bench, and most importantly, the team got the victory.

Among the many encouraging parts of last night’s win, second-year C Walker Kessler’s performance stood out as one of the most. During 24 minutes of play, Kessler posted seven points (3/5 shooting), seven rebounds, and an eye-catching five blocks.

This season marks an important time in Kessler's career, assigned as this team’s full-time five and best defensive player. After spending a good portion of his summer working and improving his game with Team USA after an impressive rookie campaign, the spotlight is now on him to make a massive leap in year two.

While it may only be one game, this debut could be a sign of things to come in a massive season for Kessler. Of course, this was not an insane offensive performance by any means, but that is nothing we exactly expect from him.

Walker Kessler with back-to-back blocks at the rim 🔒pic.twitter.com/pfE1Gh4AEH
— ClutchPoints NBA (@ClutchPointsNBA) October 9, 2023

What we witnessed on the other end of the floor was the story: five blocks in just 24 minutes. Playing alongside Memphis Grizzlies’ DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr. with Team USA during the summer might already be rubbing off on Kessler with this number of swats.

To reach his ceiling on this roster, finding some increased production and versatility on the scoring end would be ideal. Whether it comes from stretching the floor a bit better or having better on-ball skills, extending that skillset sets apart the good bigs from the great ones.

Regardless, Kessler has cemented himself as the defensive anchor of this team for the foreseeable future. The next step comes with finding the best players to stick next to him in the frontcourt, whether it comes from F Kelly Olynyk, F John Collins, or rookie F Taylor Hendricks.

The Sheriff gets another opportunity to show out against the Clippers in Tuesday’s preseason game at 8PM MT.

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