Walker Kessler

One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Walker Kessler: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you have a better example of his signature, or a story about it, the note at the foot of this page still stands.

Georgia's Mr. Basketball at Woodward Academy, Kessler blocked shots at a rate the college game rarely sees — after transferring from North Carolina to Auburn he led the nation in blocks, posted a 16-point, 11-block, 10-rebound triple-double against LSU, and won SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Draft-night maneuvering in 2022 routed him to Utah as part of the blockbuster return for Rudy Gobert, and he finished third in Rookie of the Year voting.

He grew into the Jazz's anchor in the middle, once pulling down 25 rebounds in a game, before shoulder surgery ended his 2025-26 season early. In July 2026 the Lakers signed him to a four-year, $130 million deal in a sign-and-trade.

HOW HE CAME & WENTMemphis drafted him 22nd in 2022 and Utah got him two weeks later in the Rudy Gobert trade. Shoulder surgery cost him all but five games of 2025-26, and with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic crowding the front line Utah sign-and-traded him to the Lakers in July 2026.

Full name

Walker Ross Kessler

Utah Jazz tenure

2022–26

Position

Center

Born

2001, Newnan, Georgia

Height

7′1″ (216 cm)

College

Auburn

Drafted

2022, 1st round (No. 22), Memphis