{"id":609,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/609","headline":"Walker Kessler shines in Lakers preseason debut despite loss","dek":"The Lakers fell 2-2 in the preseason against the Golden State Warriors, but the new center's first-half performance gave fans plenty to like.","body":"The Lakers dropped a 12-point decision to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, but the result took a back seat to Walker Kessler finally stepping on the floor. The 25-year-old center, acquired in a sign-and-trade from the Utah Jazz over the offseason, made his preseason debut after missing the team's first three exhibition games with a jammed pinkie finger.\n\nKessler played only the first half but made it count, finishing with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting, nine rebounds, one block and one steal. It was his first NBA action since Oct. 31, 2025, when he played five games into last season before going down.\n\nCoach JJ Redick has been pushing a \"relentless\" mentality for his roster, and Kessler's energy on both ends matched that message. Lakers fans had spent months waiting to see what the big man would look like after the team committed significant assets to bring him in, and the nerves around the move eased considerably once he actually took the court.\n\nWith Kessler finally available, the Lakers now get to see how he fits alongside the rest of the rotation as the preseason winds down.","published_at":"2026-10-14T23:18:50.247625+00:00","source_count":4,"written_from":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers Get Great News as New Big Man Signing Called ‘Everything as Advertised’","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-great-news-big-man-181322921.html"},{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Lakers’ Walker Kessler makes immediate impact by being ‘relentless’","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/10/14/sports/lakers-walker-kessler-makes-impact-by-being-relentless/"},{"outlet":"ESPN","publisher":"ESPN","title":"Kessler impresses in Lakers preseason debut as Redick emphasizes being 'relentless'","url":"https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/50179763/walker-kessler-impresses-preseason-debut-lakers"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"Walker Kessler impresses in Lakers preseason debut: 'I was actually pretty nervous'","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7688723/2026/10/14/walker-kessler-lakers-preseason-nba/"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Lakers’ Walker Kessler makes preseason debut in against Warriors","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/10/13/sports/lakers-walker-kessler-makes-preseason-debut-in-against-warriors/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers’ Walker Kessler makes preseason debut in against Warriors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-walker-kessler-makes-preseason-022059666.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Watch Walker Kessler split two defenders for his 1st bucket with Lakers","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/watch-walker-kessler-split-two-033652765.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Walker Kessler debuts, but Luka Doncic sits during Lakers preseason loss to Warriors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/walker-kessler-debuts-luka-doncic-043725996.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Lakers’ Walker Kessler makes preseason debut in against Warriors","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-walker-kessler-makes-preseason-022059708.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Walker Kessler’s stat line in Lakers debut will have fans buzzing","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/walker-kessler-stat-line-lakers-062759184.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"JJ Redick drops verdict on Walker Kessler’s Lakers preseason debut","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jj-redick-drops-verdict-walker-064525991.html"}],"image":null,"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}