Mar 17, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) warms up before the game against the Chicago Bulls at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

Utah Jazz’s Walker Kessler Breaks Down His Offseason Growth

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Oct 4, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Utah Jazz officially got back in the building for training camp earlier this week after a long offseason wait, but behind the scenes, the young talent on the roster has remained busy and in the gym throughout the summer to hone their game for the year ahead.

Fourth-year big man Walker Kessler was among those keeping his head down through the summer months. He comes off a career-third year in Utah, where he had his best averages in points and rebounds since arriving in 2022, and could be on the verge of even better splits in 2025-26.

So how did Kessler spend those summer months in the lab to get better for year four?

On Jazz media day, Kessler said he worked on a few aspects of his game on the floor, but the main focus was staying in the weight room to get stronger physically.

"This year, I think getting stronger physically was a big part of it," Kessler said."Continuing to develop my touch around the rim, develop my explosion, develop my defensive rotations, develop being able to guard in a halfcourt scenario."

As the defensive anchor and a strong presence at the five, Kessler is a core piece of how the Jazz want to build up their prowess defensively.

Through the past two years, Utah has already finished as one of the worst team defenses in the NBA, a status that would look even worse if Kessler weren't in the picture.

Now, he spent his summer not only getting his body better physically, but also attempting to improve his defensive versatility in the form of being more effective as a defender in rotations and half-court situations––a welcomed step forward for Utah's defense to start getting on track.

While Kessler is now one the more experienced and tenured Jazz players in the locker room, his improvement is still vital for Utah to reach their ceiling for both now and in the future.

He's well aware of that, which is why he sees that development and progression both individually and as a unit as critical to get this Jazz roster elevated to the level they aspired to be at.

"I think the first step to winning is working on your development and improvement. I think there's a balance between continuing to work through both of those," Kessler continued on media day. "I think those go hand in hand. I don't think those are separate."

Kessler's held up his end of working to improve throughout the summer, and will have a huge year ahead of him as he works to maximize his pay day next offseason as he likely hits restricted free agency.

Time will tell how well Kessler's fourth campaign pans out in Salt Lake City, and however well it does will likely show in his contract numbers come the summer of 2026.

This article first appeared on Utah Jazz on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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