What Walker Kessler’s Season-Ending Injury Means for Utah Jazz

Less than 10 games deep into the 2025-26 NBA season, it was announced by that Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler would be set to miss the remainder of the year due to surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Undoubtedly a major loss for the Jazz that takes out one of their starting frontcourt pieces and best defender for the foreseeable future, and in turn, shakes up what to expect from this team moving forward for the remaining regular season slate ahead in a big way.

Here's three things to take away from the latest news surrounding Kessler:

1. League-Worst Defense Set to Continue

Oct 29, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) defends against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

For the past two seasons, the Jazz have fallen to the depths of the NBA as the worst-rated defense, and that was with Walker Kessler, Utah's most impactful defender and anchor in the middle, remaining on the floor more often than not.

Now, the Jazz won't have any of that high-end rim protection that Kessler provides for the remainder of the season, which takes the current defensive situation from bad to worse.

As a result, the Jazz will have to see several players on the roster step up on that end of the floor for Utah to have any type of solid identity defensively. So far this season, they've stuck as the 22nd-ranked defense in terms of defensive rating (117.7), but it remains to be seen how that shifts without Kessler.

One name to keep a keen eye on will be third-year forward Taylor Hendricks, who's been slowly returning from his own season-ending injury last year, but might now be elevated to the team's best defender in the frontcourt without Kessler.

2. Jusuf Nurkic Elevated to Starting Center

Nov 3, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) argues a call during the second half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Without Kessler in the fold, the responsibility of the Jazz's starting center duties now sits on the shoulders of Jusuf Nurkic, Utah's trade acquisition from the Collin Sexton deal earlier this offseason, and now has a vastly different role for the year from what was initially expected.

During seven games on the year so far, Nurkic has averaged 7.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists for the Jazz in 20 minutes a night. Head coach Will Hardy has also given his new veteran big man some high praise for his ability to move the ball as a center, as well as being a standout on the glass.

"Nurk's been, awesome," Hardy said earlier this season. "Boy, I know that when the other team gets near him, we get open.  He's a heck of a screener. He does a good job of creating space for all of our perimeter players. You don't push him off the spot very easily around the basket. He's been able to hold his space and use his physicality to rebound."

He's nowhere near the defensive presence that Kessler is, but Nurkic can be a serviceable fill-in for the time that Utah's starter will be out. That doesn't mean he shouldn't still get some looks as a mover at February's trade deadline, though.

3. Contract Talks Got a Bit More Interesting

Dec 8, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Kessler's final year under contract before heading into restricted free agency this offseason has now been cut short, which inevitably sparks the conversation early on about what the injury means for the big man's value on the open market, and what the Jazz could pay him on his next deal now that he'll be missing a near full calendar year.

The Jazz and Kessler didn't get too far into contract talks this past summer, which led to the two sides tableing the discussion until next summer rolled around. That, of course, was before the 24-year-old's bad news came to light, and sprinkled in some uncertainty for what the road ahead may look like for both sides.

Will this change any of the Jazz's plans to roll with Kessler as their center of the future? Probably not. A torn labrum should be expected to fully recover by the 2026-27 season, and keep Kessler at the top of his position in terms of his defensive prowess.

But with the natural concern that comes with any extensive injury, there's a world Utah could scale back their offer just a little bit when attributing those factors.

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