Leading up to Monday's showdown against Minnesota, Utah rookie center Walker Kessler wouldn't say if there was any extra motivation going up against his "former" team.
After all, technically Kessler had never suited up for the Timberwolves. He barely had one foot in the door before he was traded as part of a large package to bring Rudy Gobert, the three-time defensive player of the year, to the Twin Cities.
After celebrating a successful season that culminated in just their second playoff appearance in 18 years, Minnesota leaders felt like the team was one move, one player away from being legit title contenders. They set their sights for a rim protector on defense who could set screens and roll to the rim efficiently on offense.
Essentially, they needed Gobert.
However, the three-time All-Star was locked up with the Jazz for the foreseeable future — and acquiring him was going to take a lot.
The Timberwolves were more than happy to oblige if it meant pairing the best rim protector of the last decade with an already formidable threesome of Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and D'Angelo Russell.
So the deal was done; Gobert went to Minnesota, and in return, the Jazz received Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Patrick Beverley, 2022 first-round pick in Kessler, first-round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029, and a pick swap in 2026.
While many in the media focused on Utah's addition of Vanderbilt, Beasley, and Beverley — as well as the picks — lost amongst the shuffle was the only guy who had yet to step on an NBA court.
Taken 22nd in the 2022 NBA draft, Kessler entered the NBA as an elite college shot blocker — but it was assumed he didn't offer much else on the offensive end, at least initially.
Fast forward to the midpoint of this season, and the player who was once considered an afterthought in one of the biggest trades of the last decade looks like a contender to make the All-Rookie team.
"The physical tools that he has allows him to have an opportunity to be successful," head coach Will Hardy said of his rookie big man. "He's shown so much growth on both ends of the floor. I think defense probably comes natural to Walker in a lot of ways, but his ability to learn the offense on the fly has been tremendous."
While his stats may not seem the most impressive as a whole — just nine starts (43 games played) where he's averaging 7.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 19.7 minutes per game — Kessler more than passes when it comes to the eye test and analytics.
His per-36 minutes stats are Gobert-esque; 13.6 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks on 71.7% shooting. He leads all rookies in Win Shares, Box Plus-Minus, and Value Over Replacement Player, to name a few. His 2.0 blocks per game rank fourth in the NBA — the only player in the top 10 averaging less than 20 minutes per game.
"It's vital to have a guy that can make plays and be unselfish with it," point guard Mike Conley said of Kessler's offense on Monday. "He's a guy that's big enough to go finish over anybody, but understanding his role for tonight where he's gotta be the guy that finds the open man and make the read. … He was the reason we got back into the game. He's been learning and doing a lot of studying, so he's been really good."
Kessler was sensational against Minnesota, finishing with 20 points, a career-high 21 rebounds, and two blocks for his eighth double-double of the year. He also added four assists, a huge development that he's finally catching up to the speed of the game.
"My teammates found me in the right spots, my teammates did a good job of keeping their guys off the glass, the coaching staff did a great job of game planning. … It was fun," Kessler said. "I think my teammates have done a great job of helping me out. I wouldn't be able to do what I do without them. … Props to them."
Not only did Kessler deliver strong screens during set actions, but he was also active with his screens off broken plays, often doing so to free up shooters. He dove to the rim with purpose, keeping the ball above his head for the finish or kick-out pass.
Lastly, his presence at the rim appeared to scare the Timberwolves away from challenging the 7-footer in the paint. More often than not, Minnesota was forced to kick out to shooters and settle for contested jumpers because they knew what was lurking in the key.
"Obviously tonight with Walker, he was sensational and did so many good things for us, "Hardy added. "Something that will go unnoticed in the box score is that Minnesota blitzed for the majority of the game, and Walker did a fantastic job of getting into the pocket and making some great decisions for us."
As the season continues, Kessler looks like a bonafide NBA center.
While his floor is already that of a defensive game-changer, there continues to be no limit on his ceiling — mainly because he gets better and better week after week.
"It feels good," Kessler said following the win. "Definitely something we can build off of, keep going. … A lot of guys from the Minnesota trade played well, so it feels good."