What Went Wrong: Walker Kessler

Last Updated on August 19, 2025 7:33 pm by André Lemos | Published: September 4, 2024

After an outstanding rookie season, much was expected of Walker Kessler heading into Year 2. That pushed him upward to ADPs of 51.6 on Yahoo and 70.4 on ESPN with eventual disappointing 84/108 (9-cat/8-cat) finishes.

Let’s take a look at what he did as a rookie and how he followed it up.

Walker Kessler

C, Los Angeles Lakers

Season	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FGM	FGA	FG%	FTM	FTA	FT%	3PTM	3PTA	3PT%	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
25-26	UTA	5	5	30.8	5.2	7.4	70.3	2.8	4.0	70.0	1.2	1.6	75.0	14.4	10.8	3.0	1.4	1.8	3.2
24-25	UTA	58	58	30.0	4.8	7.2	66.3	1.4	2.6	52.0	0.1	0.6	17.6	11.1	12.2	1.7	0.6	2.4	1.5

However, for a clearer indication of why Kessler was viewed so highly after his rookie campaign, here is a reminder of what he did last season when he moved into more of a true starter-level role.

2022-23 Season: January 10 onward (28.1 MPG across 34 games)
11.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.0 threes
0.4 steals, 2.9 blocks, 0.9 turnovers
.717 FG%, .483 FT%, 7.4 FGA, 2.6 FTA

As I mentioned in last year’s New Roles/Circumstances piece, the 2.9 blocks per game in that period edged out the 2022-23 DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr. by 0.1 to be the top influencer in that category during that time. Kessler was the 19th-ranked 9-cat performer for fantasy thanks to the traditional big man stats with low turnovers, and No. 46 in 8-cat leagues. At the time, I pointed out that slight drops in his blocks or FG% could drop him down the ranks, and in 2023-24, Kessler shot 65.4% from the field and averaged 2.4 blocks per game. Major positives, yes, but lower than the marks quoted above.

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