Former Auburn star is a top shot blocker in the NBA

This former Auburn Tiger is one of the best shot blockers in the NBA.

The Auburn basketball program isn't one known for putting a ton of talent in the NBA, but during the last few seasons of the Bruce Pearl era, that trend has changed. 

Auburn now has a handful of young stars in the league thanks to some of the developing and recruiting Pearl has done on the Plains for years now. 

One of these young stars is Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, who had an outstanding rookie season. An injury has slowed his sophomore season, but Kessler is settling back into the groove of playing basketball and starting to play well. 

Currently, Kessler is third in the NBA when it comes to blocks per game, averaging 2.6 behind this year's number-one pick, Victor Wembanyama (3.2), and veteran Brook Lopez (2.9). 

On the season, Kessler is averaging 8.8 points per game and 7.7 rebounds in 24 minutes per game. If Kessler can continue to be more aggressive for the Jazz, he can be a double-double machine during his NBA career. He is a player who will be in the Defensive Player of the Year discussion every year as long as he continues to block shots. 

Kessler will be a star in the NBA before long and could be an All-Star selection at some point during his career. 

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