The Los Angeles Lakers have been very cautious with Walker Kessler, their marquee offseason acquisition, during preseason, holding him out for their first three exhibition contests. Kessler had been dealing with a finger injury, but head coach JJ Redick wasn't very concerned and made sure to say that he'll be suiting up in at least one preseason game.

The 25-year-old center did just that on Tuesday as the Lakers faced the Golden State Warriors for the second time in preseason. Not only did Kessler play, he also impressed in his 16 minutes on the floor. He recorded 11 points and nine rebounds, to go along with one assist, one steal, and one block each, and he made four of his six shot attempts on the night. Moreover, the Lakers outscored the Warriors by 15 during his time on the court. (LA ended up losing the game, 101-89.)

Suffice to say, this was enough to impress head coach JJ Redick, who knows just how impactful Kessler will be for the Lakers this upcoming season.

“I think he's (Kessler) a great fit for our team. I thought he did a nice job of running the floor, crashing. Had some terrific rebounds in traffic. Overall, just a really, really good first half from him. I mentioned this, they had two offensive rebounds at halftime and they had 13 in the second half. He didn't play in the second half. … Overall, just really good for someone who didn't play for whatever is, 10 days,” Redick said in his postgame presser, via Spectrum SportsNet on X.

"I think he's (Kessler) a great fit for our team… Overall, just really good for someone who didn't play for whatever is 10 days."

JJ Redick talks to the media after the #Lakers 101-89 loss to the Warriors in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/B5H7lzZIh6

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) October 14, 2026

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Kessler is expected to transform the Lakers on both ends of the floor on the interior, and his performance on Tuesday is a good sign that he truly might be the man for the job.

LA paid a heavy price to acquire him. But it's evident that he's already a huge upgrade over Deandre Ayton in terms of paint protection and motor, and with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves around to feed him easy looks at the basket, he might be in for a big leap this season.