{"id":846607,"date":"2026-09-29T11:12:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T11:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/846607\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T11:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T11:12:28","slug":"how-walker-kessler-could-transform-the-lakers-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/846607\/","title":{"rendered":"How Walker Kessler could transform the Lakers’ defense"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When he\u2019s at his best, Matisse Thybulle<\/a> is already regarded as an elite, ball-hawking wing. Now think about what the new Lakers<\/a> guard can do with Walker Kessler<\/a> by his side.<\/p>\n

\u201c[I] just feel like I can fully live up to my defensive potential,\u201d Thybulle said Monday at Lakers media day, \u201cbecause of having a rim protector like Walker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as Kessler is expected to lift the Lakers\u2019 offense by pairing with Luka Doncic<\/a>, the Lakers are equally excited for the influence Kessler can have on defense. The 7-foot-2 center is the type of rim-protecting force that can unlock a new scheme and elevate his teammates as the Lakers compete in a top-heavy Western Conference.<\/p>\n

Coach JJ Redick<\/a> said the Lakers\u2019 tendency to switch on defense in recent years was \u201cby necessity.\u201d The Lakers, with the inconsistent Deandre Ayton<\/a> at center, ranked 20th in defensive rating last season with just 4.3 blocks per game. Their 41 rebounds per game ranked 27th.<\/p>\n

In 2024-25, his last full season, Kessler was second in the NBA in blocks (2.4). The former Utah Jazz center averaged a double-double (11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds) during his third year, looking primed for a breakthrough. Then, a shoulder injury limited him to just five games last season.<\/p>\n

The Lakers believe the 25-year-old Kessler\u2019s talent, age and fit with Doncic and fellow star guard Austin Reaves<\/a> made him worthy of a high-investment sign-and-trade; the Lakers sent four first-round draft picks to Utah to secure the restricted free agent, who then signed a four-year, $130-million deal with L.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Lakers organization is obviously a historic organization, and there\u2019s maybe added pressure to that,\u201d Kessler said. \u201cBut I think for me, with that pressure comes a lot of opportunity to play at a stage like this and to compete for a championship. I think that with the price they gave [for] me, again, speaking to the belief that they showed me, it makes me want to play my best ball for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lakers <\/p>\n

Lakers center Walker Kessler participates in a video shoot during the team\u2019s media day in El Segundo on Monday.<\/p>\n

(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Redick said he hopes to use Kessler similarly to how the San Antonio Spurs use reigning defensive player of the year Victor Wembanyama<\/a>. The Spurs superstar lurks down low near the basket, allowing guards to pressure aggressively on the perimeter.<\/p>\n

The plan sounds perfect to Kessler\u2019s new teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a gambling man,\u201d forward Jake LaRavia said with a smile. \u201cSo when it comes to defense, being able to play passing lanes and not have to worry about getting beat so much because you\u2019ve got Walker as the back-line defense, it\u2019s going to make us wings and guards feel a lot more comfortable being a little bit more aggressive defensively, maybe being able to pick up full-court a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers are chasing Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City and San Antonio. The last two conference champions were first and third, respectively, in NBA defensive rating last season, anchored by their star centers. Oklahoma City\u2019s Chet Holmgren<\/a> finished second in defensive player of the year voting and earned his first All-Star appearance.<\/p>\n

Hoping to keep pace, the Lakers brought in Kessler as their most high-profile offseason addition. They also revamped their options on the perimeter, adding a stable of three-and-D players to support Doncic and Reaves by spacing the floor on offense and covering for the superstars on defense. Thybulle \u2014 a two-time NBA all-defensive team honoree \u2014 guards Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton and forward Ziaire Williams are expected to be among the new faces responsible for taking the Lakers\u2019 defense to the next level.<\/p>\n

\u201cOKC, San Antonio, they play really hard defensively,\u201d Grimes said. \u201cYou can get away with a lot more. So we\u2019re really trying to set that tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doncic lauded the roster moves. Many of the signings were \u201cunderrated,\u201d Doncic said. The Lakers don\u2019t mind being overlooked for now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re competitors,\u201d Sexton said. \u201cI feel like we added people that are willing to compete, and we added guys that don\u2019t back down to anyone. … So I think we gotta show people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lakers <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Lakers organization is obviously a historic organization, and there\u2019s maybe added pressure to that,\u201d said Walker Kessler, posing during the Lakers\u2019 media day Monday. \u201cBut I think for me, with that pressure comes a lot of opportunity to play at a stage like this and to compete for a championship.<\/p>\n

(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Doncic, who missed the postseason because of a hamstring injury, is especially eager to get back on the court. The thought of his long-awaited return was one of the few times the maniacal competitor showed a genuine smile during his obligatory news conference Monday.<\/p>\n

Kessler said his shoulder is \u201c110%\u201d and \u201cbetter than it\u2019s ever felt.\u201d The injury lingered since college and started getting worse last season. Shutting it down for the season felt like \u201cit would be the best timing,\u201d Kessler said in July. At the time, Utah was much more focused on draft position than playoff hopes.<\/p>\n

With a line of Larry O\u2019Brien trophies lording over the Lakers\u2019 practice court, Kessler knows expectations in L.A. will be the highest he\u2019s ever faced.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo play for a [historic team] like this, I don\u2019t really feel pressure. I just feel grateful,\u201d Kessler said. \u201cGrateful for this opportunity and grateful to play for this franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When he\u2019s at his best, Matisse Thybulle is already regarded as an elite, ball-hawking wing. Now think about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790],"tags":[100009,7,2010,652,8884,17845,4034,1698,300,4044,100007,251,150,4033,4043,3857,368,7211,6,826,11517,3039,474,100008],"class_list":["post-846607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-lakers","tag-7-foot-2-center","tag-basketball","tag-block","tag-defense","tag-few-time","tag-kessler","tag-la","tag-la-lakers","tag-lakers","tag-lalakers","tag-last-full-season","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangeleslakers","tag-lot","tag-luka-doncic","tag-matisse-thybulle","tag-nba","tag-offense","tag-perimeter","tag-rebound","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-spurs-superstar"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117354033970098068","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}