LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers take the court on Wednesday night for their 2026-27 NBA season opener against the Golden State Warriors, it will be Walker Kessler’s first career game in a Lakers uniform. The sixth-year big man played in the team’s final two preseason games, but now it’s for real. The win-loss record and game performance count now. And for Lakers head coach JJ Redick, there’s going to be a learning curve with the teams’s new big man.

Some of the things the Lakers are asking Walker Kessler to do on the court are things he hasn’t really been tasked with before when he was playing with the Utah Jazz. In a way, the approach JJ Redick and the Lakers are taking with Kessler’s development is similar to the one they’ve taken with the younger guys on the roster in Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr.

And if the former North Carolina and Auburn standout can reach his full potential, Redick foresees a big career outlook. It’s just going to require patience.

“We’ve got to take a bigger picture approach of certain things. The same way we got to take a bigger picture approach with Cam and Adou, the same thing with Walker,” Redick said following Lakers’ practice on Monday. “He’s never played with a player like Luka [Doncic] before. He’s never really been tasked with being the anchor of the defense. These are things we think he can be, All-Star level. It’s gonna take time, it’s gonna be a process with him.”

Kessler’s first unofficial outing with the Lakers came during their fourth preseason game in Las Vegas against the Warriors. He finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and one blocked shot in 16 minutes. His next game, during the final preseason outing, he finished with six points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one blocked shot.

That was a bit of an example of the process that Redick spoke about. While his first outing may have been more in line with what’s to be expected of him on a nightly basis, his second preseason game was more of the ebbs and flows that come with developing a young player, especially a young player who hasn’t played much basketball in over a year.

Kessler was limited to only five games last season due to a shoulder injury. Not only is he being asked to step into a larger role with the Lakers, but he is also getting his body used to playing competitive basketball again. To top it off, he’s making his debut for a franchise with a storied history of both winning and having dominant big men, and with a fanbase that has not always been the most patient with young players.

For the 25-year-old, dealing with the pressure that comes with putting on a Lakers uniform is all about having the proper mindset.

“Yeah, you definitely have to remind yourself. But I think it’s just depending on how you look at it. You can look it at from two perspectives,” Kessler said after Lakers’ practice on Monday. “I think the more energy you give, the positive perspective of looking at the opportunity, the less time you spend worrying about the pressure.”

Article Continues Below

Coming into this season, Kessler holds career averages of 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.4 blocked shots with a shooting efficiency of 68.1 percent. The past two seasons, however, even with the injury issues, he’s averaged double digits in both scoring and rebounding.

He’s just scratching the surface of unearthing the player he could potentially become. And with his current mindset of coming to work every day and soaking up as much as he can, that’s the recipe to unlock that level Redick spoke about.

“I’ve always been a big believer in you got to do what you do, you’ve got to learn,” Kessler said. “My rookie year, I came in the league just trying to learn. Learn as much information as I could to try and get better. So for me, I’m just gonna try to get better every day.”