Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton are wasting no time making their reunion look seamless in Los Angeles.
Recent footage from Big A Classic runs this week showed the two working together and already sharpening the kind of on-court connection the Lakers are hoping to lean on once training camp opens. It’s a familiar partnership, too, built over three seasons together with the Utah Jazz and apparently picked right back up in a new uniform.
Both players arrived in L.A. through separate offseason moves, but the paths were tied together. The Lakers landed Kessler from Utah in a sign-and-trade on July 1, sending unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, plus first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030, to get the 24-year-old center, who signed a four-year, $130 million deal. Sexton followed soon after on a two-year, $19 million contract, bringing the former Jazz backcourt-center connection to Los Angeles.
Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton putting in work together at Big A Classic runs 🔥
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 3, 2026
(via @swishcultures_)pic.twitter.com/yMOWAAiw3y
Sexton made it clear he thinks Kessler is built to fit right in.
“I would say his mindset, and being able to come in and give it his all each and every night,” Sexton said. “He's one of those people that's very competitive.”
He also pointed to how far back their relationship goes, noting that their bond started before their Utah days.
“Me and Walker, we have built a really good relationship over the past four or five years. Even just like when he was in school, he's from Atlanta as well,” Sexton said. “Our connection on the court is pretty cool.”
That kind of familiarity matters for a Lakers team with plenty of moving parts. Kessler is expected to give Luka Doncic the defensive-anchor center he reportedly wanted, while Sexton is projected to be the first guard off the bench for a second unit that ranked 29th in the league in scoring last season.
With so much change across the roster, Los Angeles is counting on any chemistry it can get early. In Kessler and Sexton, the Lakers already have two additions who don’t need much time to figure each other out.
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