Walker Kessler: From Surprise Standout to Team USA Controversy

Walker Kessler (2001, 2.13) was one of the big positive surprises last season. In one of the great transfers of free agency, the player who had played in the Tigers would move from Memphis, the team that drafted him, to join the Utah Jazz. There, the player chosen in pick number 20, would begin to stand out, allowing him to be part of the twelve that will be under the command of Steve Kerr.

The Utah Jazz got a big surprise when one of the players who entered the trade for Rudy Gobert began to stand out this season. In the month of February he would be chosen as the best rookie in the Western Conference. A month earlier he would post a game-high 20 points and 21 rebounds, the first 20-20 double-double by a rookie in Jazz history. At the end of the season, he would end up entering the best rookie quintet in the NBA. He would begin preparing for the 2023/2024 season, when during training he was called by his coach Will Hardy:

“I was working out, and JZ (General Manager Justin Zanik) walks out on the court and says, ‘Walker, stop. I need you to answer this call.’ So it was driving me crazy. And me: ‘I don’t know what’s about to happen. Am I about to be pierced?’ It was all going through my head, and he said, It’s Coach Will Hardy. I was like, Oh, okay. So I got on the phone and the coach said, ‘Hello, asshole. What are you doing?’ I was like: ‘I’m training, coach. He was like, ‘Well, I just want to congratulate you on making Team USA.’ And I was like: ‘Oh! I was definitely a little speechless, but they expressed their congratulations, and here I am.”

Unlike his role in the Utah franchise, where his starting position has been assured, he has not found his place in the American team. In the preparation matches held in Malaga, both litmus tests for Steve Kerr’s men had a testimonial presence. FIBA basketball where speed and the outside game penalize great dominators of the perimeter. Situation known by Steve Kerr who has decided to place both Jarren Jackson Jr, Paolo Banchero and Bobby Portis, players more accustomed to a position of “4” as center. Players with potential inside the paint, on the perimeter, and with a good shot from the outside, which allows defenses to be more open. The absence of great dominators on the perimeter such as Jokic and Giannis does not require having a lot of height to defend the interiors of the rest of the countries.

2023-08-16 16:05:05
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