Historical Auburn come out Walker Kessler opened his third NBA season with 16 factors, 14 rebounds and 5 blocked pictures Wednesday night time within the Utah Jazz’s 126-124 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Within the 52 seasons that blocked pictures have been an official NBA statistic, Kessler has remodeled into nineteenth efficiency in a season opening match with a stat line of a minimum of 16 factors, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks, and the primary since Anthony Davis did it for the New Orleans Pelicans on October 28, 2014.
The 19 video games come from 16 gamers, with Hakeem Olajuwon doing it thrice and Bob McAdoo doing it twice. Different Naismith Basketball Corridor of Famers who completed the feat embody Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Artis Gilmore, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson, Nate Thurmond and Ben Wallace.
A prep star at Carver Excessive College in Dothan, Gilmore had 20 factors, 16 rebounds and 7 blocks because the San Antonio Spurs opened the 1982-83 season with a 120-114 victory over the Jazz.
A prep star at Central Excessive College in Hayneville, Wallace had 16 factors, 17 rebounds and 6 blocks because the Detroit Pistons opened the 2003-04 season with an 89-87 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Kessler is the one participant on the listing with fewer than 11 pictures, because the Utah middle made 6 of seven from the ground towards the Grizzlies.
In his first NBA season, Kessler averaged 9.2 factors, 8.4 rebounds and a couple of.3 blocks per sport, ending third within the voting for the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Yr. Final season, Kessler averaged 8.1 factors, 7.5 rebounds and a couple of.4 blocks per sport. sport.
“I believe Walker is a really conscientious particular person, and generally that may be a bit of paralyzing,” the Utah coach mentioned. Will Hardy mentioned after the match. “He overthinks issues at instances, and I believed tonight he had a fairly good stability between the components of him that have been considering and analyzing and the components of him that have been a bit of reckless. These are conversations that Walker and I needed to attempt to free him, to ask him to offer himself a bit of grace. He cannot be that perfectionist taking part in the place he performs within the NBA, and tonight was clearly a superb instance of that. and now it is about whether or not we will play constantly with that sort of energy…
“The work he did this summer time shouldn’t be enjoyable. All of the younger gamers engaged on their our bodies, it isn’t enjoyable. And that takes a variety of dedication and energy and sacrifice, and Walker did these issues. It is nice for him to have this match on opening night time as a result of it exhibits him that the work is paying off. We should now proceed the work. However he has rediscovered, or regained, a few of that childlike pleasure that we noticed in Walker early on throughout his time right here. He is an incredible particular person and has an incredible character. However we would like him to make use of that character as a energy: are you able to give your self the liberty to let go a bit of bit and never be so cautious? And I believed tonight he did that, and whereas he was throwing, he had an even bigger, stronger physique that he was throwing, so it was form of a coupling of these two issues tonight.
The Jazz will face the Golden State Warriors on Friday at 8:30 p.m. CDT on the Delta Heart in Salt Lake Metropolis of their subsequent sport.
Mark Inabinett is a sports activities reporter for Alabama Media Group. Observe him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
