Jazz's Walker Kessler Joins Tim Duncan with Wild NBA History

It's been nothing short of a strong start to Walker Kessler's young career through his first three seasons with the Utah Jazz.

That holds especially true when looking at how his third year in Utah panned out too. After seeing a few questions about his long-term fit in the Jazz's rebuild last offseason, even appearing in a few lingering trade rumors as well, Kessler made sure to make a statement during his 2024-25 campaign in more ways than one.

Not only did Kessler manage to put together the best numbers of his career, but the Jazz big man also logged some historic accomplishments in the process of his third year in the fold.

According to a stat uncovered by ESPN's Bobby Marks, Walker Kessler is the first player in the NBA to average over two blocks a game in his first three seasons since Hall of Famer Tim Duncan did it over 20 years ago.

"Kessler is the first player to average at least two blocks per game in each of his first three NBA seasons since Tim Duncan from 1997-2000," Marks wrote. "He also averaged a career high in points (11.1), rebounds (12.2) and assists (1.7) and shot 66.3% from the field, the highest in the NBA."

Putting together career averages comparable to the likes of someone like Duncan should undoubtedly be a great sign for Jazz fans looking ahead at Kessler's future in the league.

Especially during this past regular season, Kessler made sure to make his mark as Utah's certified defensive anchor, and the stats show just that. Of course, Utah's defense as a whole still had its considerable pitfalls across the year as a whole being one of the NBA's worst-ranked units, but when looking at the big man's production individually, there's a lot to love.

This offseason will be an intriguing one for Kessler, as the big man will now have a chance to negotiate his rookie extension and get paid, as well as cement himself as a cornerstone for the foreseeable future within this young core.

Based on the numbers, getting that deal hashed out would be a wise investment for the Jazz brass to make.