Walker Kessler Showing 'All-Star Upside' Amid Jazz's Early Struggles

Even in a bump season, the Utah Jazz have seen some special play in the frontcourt.

Oct 30, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) and forward John Collins (20) reach for a rebound in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The latest power rankings are in, and like the last few weeks, they weren't too kind to the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz are currently on one of the worst starts in recent franchise memory, pinning in as their worst beginning to a season in over a decade. With such a bleak year underway, Utah has effectively seen its stock tank in power rankings across the media.

However, through Bleacher Report and Andy Bailey's latest edition of rankings, it wasn't all bad for the Jazz.

While they placed 29th out of 30 teams in the league and stuck at that same spot for the second-consecutive week ahead of just the Washington Wizards, some significant credit was handed out towards the defensive anchor of Utah's roster, third-year center Walker Kessler, and even got hints of an All-Star label being thrown his way as well.

"The Jazz have a bottom-three record and a bottom-two net rating. Their host of young players are getting tons of minutes. And at least one of those young players is showing All-Defense (and maybe even All-Star) upside," Bailey said. "Since he returned from an injury in mid-November, Walker Kessler has played in eight games and averaged 12.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks in 32.1 minutes. And while Utah is losing by 7.8 points per 100 possessions over the entirety of those eight games, it's only minus-0.8 when Kessler is playing."

On a team basis, the defensive side of the ball hasn't been great for the Jazz. They rank 29th in the NBA for defensive rating, allowing a 27th-best 118.7 points per game on the other end. Even through the inconsistencies, Kessler has emerged as a key cog in Utah's defensive presence by being a nightly force in the interior.

For the Jazz to improve as a collective, they'll have to surround Kessler with the ideal pieces to be efficient both ways on the floor. Getting Taylor Hendricks to pair alongside him in the frontcourt was a great start. Then, that plan was disrupted less than 10 games into the season with a brutal year-ending leg injury.

Hendricks's return to the lineup will be a massive step in the right direction for this defensive unit, but of course, that'll take some time to come to fruition.

Kessler has done his part and has shown great progress as a rim protector and the future big man of this roster. However, a strong defensive effort can't be done alone. Especially when lineup turnover is as prevalent on a night-to-night basis for the Jazz and Will Hardy's rotation, it makes putting together a consistent defensive effort much more difficult.

Until the Jazz's front office seriously addresses their woes on the defensive side at either February's deadline or during this offseason's free agency/draft, we should expect more of the same results on that end of the floor and a similar outcome in future power rankings.

On the bright side, Kessler has done enough to assure some confidence as the man in the middle for Utah across the foreseeable future, and may have even locked up his odds of getting a contract extension his way come the summer of 2025.

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