Walker Kessler's 347 Days End With 11 and 9 in a Lakers Half

Photo: NBA.com. Walker Kessler, Los Angeles Lakers center.

Walker Kessler played only the first half of his Lakers preseason debut Tuesday and finished with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, nine rebounds, a block and a steal in his first NBA game in 347 days. Los Angeles was plus-15 in his 16 minutes and minus-27 in the 32 he sat, and JJ Redick now has one exhibition left, Friday at home against Denver, before the Oct. 21 opener against Golden State.

The 16 minutes

The Warriors won 101-89 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and all of that margin came after halftime. The Lakers led 63-50 at halftime, per the NBA.com box score, then scored 13 points in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth. Kessler started, played 15:55, and sat the entire second half.

The Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner tracked his first half. Kessler cut to the basket, took a pass from Austin Reaves and scored on a layup. His second basket was a left-handed layup early in the second quarter. Shortly after, he blocked a shot by Charles Bassey from behind, and less than a minute later he grabbed an offensive rebound and went back up for a dunk. Two of his nine rebounds came on the offensive glass. He went 3-of-4 at the line. Over his first four seasons he shot 54.5% on free throws, per Basketball-Reference.

Golden State tested him early. When the Warriors went small in the first quarter, Kessler's man became 6-foot-2 Gary Payton II, per the Times, which pulled the 7-foot-2 center out to the perimeter. Kessler gave the guards the credit, saying his teammates "did a great job of playing defense on the perimeter."

Reaves on the roll

Reaves scored 28 with seven assists and said Kessler "created probably four or five really good looks for us from 3 by just rolling hard." Reaves said "nobody's going to give him credit for it," and the box score backs him up. Kessler took zero threes and was credited with one assist.

Plenty of those looks missed, since the Lakers shot 9-of-34 from deep as a team. Luka Doncic rested, so Reaves handled the ball more and finished with seven turnovers to go with his seven assists.

Kessler made six of eight threes in five games last season with Utah, per Basketball-Reference. He did not take one Tuesday.

What the second half showed

Without him, the Lakers lost the second half 51-26 and turned it over 18 times, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. They finished with 29 turnovers, per NBA.com, and Golden State had 20 steals.

Redick pinned it on the backup ballhandling. "It's too taxing with full court pressure for AR and Luka to just do that solely," he said, and called the second half "not a good offensive product." The Lakers were also without Collin Sexton, Cameron Carr, Ziaire Williams and Adou Thiero, all day-to-day per Redick, on top of the resting Doncic.

Kessler's plus-15 came with the starters. The second half came without Doncic and those four day-to-day players. "Thought he did a nice job of running the floor, crashing, had some terrific rebounds in traffic, protected the rim," Redick said.

The price on the table

The Lakers got Kessler from Utah in an offseason sign-and-trade. They sent out two future unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps, then gave him a four-year, $130 million contract at 25. He has played 201 regular-season games across four seasons, five of them last year. He tore the labrum in his left shoulder, had season-ending surgery in November, and last played Oct. 31 for the Jazz.

In 2024-25, Kessler started all 58 of his games and averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 30 minutes on 66.3% shooting, per Basketball-Reference. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022-23. Bassey had 12 rebounds for Golden State on Tuesday.

In one of the first couple of days of camp, Kessler jammed his left pinkie on the backboard while trying to block a shot and sat out the Lakers' first three preseason games.

Redick's challenge for him is one word. "The word I've used with him, the challenge, is just being relentless," Redick said, describing it as "running the floor, diving, screening, crashing the glass." Kessler said they landed on it together and defined it as "crashing every time, trying to be a presence in the paint."

Friday, then Oct. 21

The Lakers are 2-2 in the preseason, with both losses to Golden State and both wins over Sacramento. They host Denver on Friday, Oct. 16, in their final exhibition, then open the regular season against the Warriors on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Crypto.com Arena.

Sources

• ESPN: Walker Kessler impresses in preseason debut for Lakers. Dave McMenamin, Oct. 14, 2026. 11 points on 4-of-6, nine rebounds, one block, one steal, first half only. 101-89 loss. 347 days since Oct. 31 Jazz game. Torn left labrum, season-ending November surgery. Sign-and-trade, four years and $130 million, two unprotected firsts, two pick swaps. Jammed left pinkie, missed first three preseason games. Plus-15 in 16 minutes, minus-27 in 32. Second half 51-26 with 18 turnovers. Quotes from Kessler, Redick and Reaves.
• NBA.com: Warriors vs. Lakers box score, Oct. 13, 2026. Kessler 15:55, 3-of-4 FT, 2 offensive rebounds, 0 three-point attempts. Lakers 29-34-13-13 by quarter, 29 turnovers, 9-of-34 from three. Warriors 20 steals, Bassey 12 rebounds. James minus-18 in 10:52.
• Los Angeles Times: Walker Kessler debuts, Luka Doncic sits in Lakers' loss to Warriors. Broderick Turner, Oct. 13, 2026. Kessler's first-half baskets, block on Bassey, putback dunk, Payton II small-ball matchup, opener Oct. 21.
• Basketball-Reference: Walker Kessler. 2024-25: 58 games, 58 starts, 30.0 minutes, 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 66.3% FG. 2025-26: 5 games, 6-of-8 from three. Career 201 games, 54.5% FT. Third in 2022-23 Rookie of the Year voting.
• ESPN: Lakers preseason schedule. 2-2 record, Friday Oct. 16 vs. Denver.
• NBA.com: Warriors vs. Lakers, Oct. 21, 2026. Regular-season opener at Crypto.com Arena.