Walker Kessler’s debut with the Los Angeles Lakers went better than anyone could’ve expected.
The 7-foot-2 center had his highest-scoring game since his rookie season, scoring 26 points in 30 minutes. He shot a perfect 12-for-12 from the field and finished with 10 dunks, the most by a Laker since Shaquille O’Neal over two decades ago.
I could write a whole story on the craziest stats from Kessler’s debut — he had the most field-goal attempts without a miss since Wilt Chamberlain in 1969, too — but there is one stat that jumps out the most.
The stat: 11 of Kessler’s 12 field goals were assisted. And the one basket that wasn’t assisted was a putback.
That’s exactly what the Lakers need from Kessler.
Doncic assisted five of Kessler’s 12 baskets, meaning nearly half of Kessler’s field goals came directly from the Lakers’ superstar. Austin Reaves was a close second (3), followed by Zaire Williams (2) and Quentin Grimes (1).
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Why Walker Kessler’s debut is so encouraging for Lakers
Not only did the Lakers sign Kessler to a four-year, $130 million contract in the offseason, making him one of the NBA’s highest-paid centers, but they traded two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to the Utah Jazz for him.
Many thought that was an overpay, but the Lakers made that commitment hoping Kessler would be the perfect complement to Doncic and Reaves.
You saw why the Lakers made that bet in Kessler’s debut. Yes, he’s a massive target at 7-foot-2 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, but he’s not someone who needs the ball to be effective. He makes his money setting screens, hanging around the dunker spot and running the floor in transition.
That might not work everywhere, but when you’ve built a team around two perimeter players who command so much attention, it could tie everything together perfectly.
You can see the impossible decisions Kessler forces defenses to make here:
NBA
That’s Draymond Green, a former Defensive Player of the Year who is one of the best defenders in NBA history.
If Green steps up to help on Doncic, Kessler is left alone around the basket. If he stays attached to Kessler, Doncic gets more room to operate.
You can probably guess how the possession ended.
Kessler’s not going to average 26 points. He’s probably not going to have many games where he makes every shot he takes. But if he can consistently punish teams for loading up on Doncic and Reaves, the Lakers might have found exactly what they were looking for when they made such a massive investment to acquire him.
