Walker Kessler Makes Immediate Impact in Lakers Preseason Debut

Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick has issued a clear directive to his new acquisition, Walker Kessler: be "relentless." Kessler appeared to embrace this challenge in his preseason debut, a 101-89 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

In his first game action in nearly a year, the 7-foot-2 center played 16 minutes in the first half, logging 11 points, nine rebounds (two offensive), one block, and one steal. The Lakers outscored the Warriors by 15 points during Kessler's time on the floor. This performance comes after Kessler missed the first three preseason games due to a left pinky finger injury.

"He’s a great fit for our team," Redick said of Kessler. "He did a nice job of running the floor, crashing, had some terrific rebounds in traffic [and] protected the rim. Just [a] really good first half from him. Overall really good for someone who didn’t play for, whatever it is, 10 days."

Kessler, acquired from the Jazz in a sign-and-trade that included a four-year, $130 million contract, had his 2025-26 season cut short by left shoulder surgery after playing only five regular-season games. He admitted to feeling nervous before the game but enjoyed being back on the court.

"It was a lot of fun being out there again," Kessler said. "It’s been so long. Before the game, I was actually pretty nervous, to be honest. But, getting out there and just playing with the guys, it was a blast."

Kessler's impact was evident from the Lakers' first possession. After a missed shot, he battled for an offensive rebound, which led to a team offensive rebound. He echoed Redick's sentiment about his role.

"JJ and I talked, and that’s kind of what we came up with this year: ‘Relentless,’ " Kessler said. "And for me, that means just crashing every time, trying to be a presence in the paint, inside, outside, play hard, don’t take plays off, on the offensive end and defensive end. That’s going to be my goal for this year."

His ability to create open looks for teammates was also highlighted. On one play, Kessler rolled hard to the basket after a pick-and-roll, drawing a defender and freeing up Quentin Grimes for an open corner three-pointer. Guard Austin Reaves noted Kessler's gravity around the rim.

"He created probably four or five really good looks for us from 3 just rolling hard," Reaves said. "Nobody’s gonna give him credit for it, but him putting pressure on the rim and roll opportunities gonna make the big guy sink, and we’re gonna get wide open 3s. We had quite a bit of them."

With one more preseason game scheduled against the Nuggets on Friday before opening the regular season against the Warriors, Kessler aims to build on his promising debut. He stated his focus is on improving his "game feel" and conditioning, which he felt was solid despite an initial bout of fatigue.