The Lakers didn’t just find a center this offseason. They may have found the piece that changes everything.
Through three games, Walker Kessler has fit beside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves with startling speed, and Los Angeles has opened the season 3-0 in convincing fashion. Early returns point to Kessler as the kind of rim protector and lob threat the Lakers have been missing, and potentially the difference in whether this group can go all the way.
Kessler’s path to this moment has been anything but quiet. The Jazz made him a first-round pick in 2022, and he spent the first four seasons of his career in Utah.
He earned a spot on the NBA All-Rookie First Team and finished as a finalist for Rookie of the Year before that honor ultimately went to Paolo Banchero in 2022-2023. But good players can get buried on bad teams, and Utah’s rebuild never really gave him the kind of stage his talent deserved.
Then came shoulder surgery, which sidelined him for most of the 2025-2026 season.
That’s part of what made the Lakers’ move so intriguing. They wanted a major center to pair with Doncic, but Kessler’s recent health concerns left plenty of questions about whether he was the right bet. So far, he’s answered loudly.
He exploded in the opener against the Warriors, throwing down 10 dunks and finishing with 26 points. Against the Clippers, he backed that up with 22 points, three steals and six blocks, plus 17 rebounds across the first two games. That’s impact on both ends, and it’s exactly the sort of presence that can change how a team plays around its star guard.
Game 3 brought a different kind of night. Back in Utah against his former team, Kessler admitted he got too emotional and too excited, and that left him off his game. He wasn’t sharp, but Doncic covered the gap with a savage 52-point double-double to carry the Lakers past the Jazz.
Kessler is still settling in, and this roster has seen plenty of change beyond just the new center. But the fit is obvious.
If he keeps bringing this level of rim protection and vertical threat into the regular season and the postseason, the Lakers suddenly look a lot more dangerous. That’s where the conversation starts to shift, and why the Spurs and Thunder may not be Western Conference shoo-ins.
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