2022 NBA Draft Breakdown - Walker Kessler
Former UNC center that transferred to Auburn and completely transformed his game.
Another one of my favorite players in the 2022 draft class, Walker Kessler is an absolute force to be reckoned with. I didn’t think anything of Kessler when he attended UNC, seeing as he barely got any run and wasn’t given much freedom, but that completely changed when he switched over to the Tigers.
In his only season at Auburn, Kessler averaged 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and… 5.7 stocks per game. Obviously, Kessler averaged the most amount of stocks/blocks in the entire draft class, along with the best block percentage of any NCAA D1 player. Kessler’s blocking numbers were historical, matching freaking Shaquille O’Neal in triple-doubles with blocks in SEC history and he had more blocks in total than about 10 programs in the country. Kessler’s 19.01 block percentage is the highest in NCAA history. The sheer amount of shots that Kessler altered simply by being in the paint is rivaled in the class only by Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren.
Kessler has tremendous size and bulk for his position with a 7-foot-1 stature, a positive wingspan and 245 pounds to work with. He has one of the higher body fat percentages in the class of players tested at the NBA Combine and the G League Elite Camp but it works for the style in which he plays basketball. Despite that size, he’s actually quite nimble and doesn’t foul as often as you’d think someone his size would, along with having the footwork to keep up with faster and smaller players. Because of that fact, Kessler was great at going out to the perimeter to defend players, something other posts in this class can’t do. He also didn’t turn the ball over often.
According to Adam Spinella, Kessler made a whopping 94% of roll-man finishes, he’s fantastic at that side of the game. Getting Kessler next to a top point guard would do wonders for a team’s offense. While Mark Williams is an overwhelming favorite to be selected by the Charlotte Hornets, that’s an example of a team that would unlock the best of Kessler. Kessler’s just a fantastic target to throw lobs to and his 7-foot-4 wingspan makes it easy to get the ball to him.
It’s also incredibly fascinating to me that Kessler actually took 50 threes this season. He only made 10 of them (20%) but the fact that a 7-foot-1 guy is taking that many threes is impressive. His form is ugly right now, but teams should absolutely try to coach Kessler up on fixing up his deep-ball game as unlocking that takes him a tier above the other mid-first bigs (Williams and Memphis’s Jalen Duren) in this class.
Despite the fact that Kessler is nimble, he’s not able to guard multiple positions effectively and craftier guards and wings will have no issue getting past him. Kessler doesn’t foul as often as you’d think but he still makes some reckless bites on jumpers which is not ideal. Outside of that, Kessler needs to work on his free-throw shooting and his ability to pass out of the paint if he wants any chance at being a top center in the league someday.
Still, I’m just as interested in Kessler as I am in the other two mid-first bigs in this class. For some reason, it seems like Kessler’s stock is well below Williams and Duren but I would place them in the same tier and might even end up having Kessler over Duren when it’s all said and done. For now, I think teams will get a steal by taking Kessler in the mid-first. Kessler’s blocking ability will earn him a roster spot on teams for a while, especially if the 20-year-old can improve other areas of his game the way his potential suggests.