NBA 2K27 is already giving Lakers fans a few clues about how the game sees their new-look roster, and Walker Kessler’s place on the shot-blocking list is one of the more interesting ones.
With the video game set to release on Sept. 4, the franchise has been teasing ratings ahead of launch, and Kessler landed ninth among the Top 10 shot swatters at 93. At the top of that group sits San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, who checks in at 99 in the category. Rudy Gobert, Evan Mobley and Chet Holmgren are also ahead of Kessler.
For Los Angeles, that number ties directly into why the team pushed to land him in a rare sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz. Kessler’s rim protection is supposed to be one of the real swing skills on this roster overhaul built around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. He’s been one of the league’s better two-way centers during his short run in Utah, and the Lakers are counting on that edge carrying over in Los Angeles.
Still, the rating does raise an eyebrow a bit when you look at Kessler’s track record. Through four NBA seasons, he’s averaged 2.4 blocks per game, which makes his spot outside the upper tier of the list feel a little low.
Doncic and rookie Cameron Carr also showed up in the game’s latest attribute reveals. Doncic, the reigning NBA scoring champion, made the Top 10 in three-point shooting at 92 and ball-handling at 95. Carr, meanwhile, popped up with the second-highest vertical rating at 98, trailing only Amen Thompson of the Houston Rockets, who came in at 99.
That part of the list came with its own surprise: Adou Thiero, Carr’s Lakers teammate, didn’t crack the Top 10 despite turning heads with his leaping ability during NBA Summer League. The expectation is that Thiero would sit somewhere in the 11-15 range for vertical, with his bounce likely to show up often once the 2026-27 NBA season gets rolling.
In Other News...
Lakers Additions Are Suddenly Fueling A Defensive Identity Fans Craved
The Lakers offseason overhaul has put a very different kind of spotlight on the roster heading into the 2026-27 season, with Matisse Thybulle and Walker Kessler arriving as the sort of defensive pieces that can reshape the tone of a team fast. Under head coach JJ Redick, those additions point toward a sharper identity on that end of the floor, one built less around star power alone and more around disruption, rim protection and the kind of pressure that can change a possession before it ever settles in.
Thybulles reputation as a menace on the perimeter and Kesslers presence near the basket give Los Angeles a clearer defensive spine than it has had in recent seasons, which is exactly the kind of shift fans have been waiting to see. The real question now is how quickly that vision becomes more than a good-looking depth chart, because the ingredients are there for a tougher Lakers group, but the payoff still depends on how Redick pieces it together once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers May Be Weighing Dalton Knecht In A Bigger Luka Fit Move
The Lakers are still working through the details of an offseason roster that remains above the limit, and that has kept Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht in the middle of trade conversations. With the team continuing to explore ways to reshape the group around its new direction, Daltons name has surfaced as part of broader discussions that could help create more balance and flexibility before the roster is finalized.
One scenario being discussed involves Boston and Detroit, with Los Angeles looking at the possibility of adding Sam Hauser and Gary Harris as part of a larger three-team framework. For the Lakers, the appeal is obvious: more usable pieces, more fit, and a cleaner path to completing the roster. The question now is whether the front office chooses to pull the trigger on a move that changes the look of the bench while also clearing the logjam it still has to solve. [Read more 🡒]