Luka Doncic Impressed With Walker Kessler In Lakers Debut

Walker Kessler had a historic Los Angeles Lakers regular-season debut, scoring 26 points on 12-for-12 shooting in a blowout win over the Golden State Warriors. He is the only Laker since Shaquille O’Neal to have 10 or more dunks in a game, along with becoming the forst Lakers player to have a perfect shooting night on at least 12 shot attempts since Wilt Chamberlain.

Kessler set good screens, rolled hard, ran the floor and the big man was rewarded by the Lakers’ playmakers. Luka Doncic specifically commended his new starting center as their partnership is off to a great start.

“Very impressive game for him. I think he was 12-for-12, which is very impressive,” Doncic said. “It’s just the way he saw when I was driving and he stepped up and when I was doubled, he played in the pocket. So very impressive game for him.”

Despite how easy the Lakers offense looks at times by getting dunks for Kessler, the Lakers star pushed back on that narrative.

“Even if it looks easy, it’s not easy, for sure. Gotta work for the ball to get in his hands and make that dunk,” Doncic continued. “But obviously it’s easier with him on the court. But that’s just the first game. I think our ceiling is even higher. But like I said, he did an amazing job today.”

Given there are nine new players on the Lakers roster, growing pains are expected, but head coach JJ Redick tried to mitigate it with extra practice time. Opening Night historically does not treat the Lakers well, but Doncic, Austin Reaves and Kessler looked great.

Having three players scoring 20-plus points does wonders for an offense, but it seems the Lakers are just scratching the surface of what they can become.

One worry though is the Lakers’ over-reliance on Kessler defensively as they cratered on that end of the court when he went to the bench. Between now and the trade deadline, the Lakers will likely need to pick up a backup center who can spell Kessler to keep him fresh and healthy. So far though, the big man is looking like a great acquisition.

Walker Kessler was excited for Lakers debut

Several players made their Lakers debut on Wednesday and for Kessler, in particular, it was his first time suiting up in a while as he went nearly a calendar year without playing a regular season game. Obviously, emotions ran high for Kessler leading up to this moment and he admitted he could not contain his excitement to take the floor at Crypto.com Arena.