The 2026 Los Angeles Lakers are entering what feels like a defining new chapter. After an active offseason reshaped around Luka Dončić, the franchise is aiming to build a roster capable of delivering its 18th NBA championship.
Former Lakers forward Robert Horry, a key contributor to three of the team’s five titles in the 2000s, believes one offseason addition could prove especially important: Walker Kessler.
“When you watch what Walker Kessler brings to the game, he’s so incredibly skilled and we haven’t had a big since AD that can block shots like that, pop out for threes,” Horry said. “So I just hope he stays healthy — Him missing damn near all season, how much rust has he developed?”
Kessler had been trending toward becoming one of the NBA’s more impactful big men through his first three seasons. In 2024-25, he posted career-best numbers with 12.2 rebounds per game while also averaging 2.4 blocks, 1.7 assists and 11.1 points.
He was producing at a similar level last season before his momentum was halted by a torn labrum, an injury that brought his campaign to an abrupt end and left questions about how quickly he can regain form with the Lakers.
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“So it’s going to be really interesting to see what he can do because he is the key. Not Luka, not AR, he is,” Horry said.
When the offseason began, Dončić had one request to the Lakers front office, and that was finding him a big man.
The Lakers granted his wish when they acquired Kessler from the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade deal that featured them trading away two unprotected future first-round draft picks and two first-round pick swaps, including a four-year, $130 million contract extension that will pay him $30.1 million next season.
With a potentially healthy Kessler on the Lakers roster this year, it will be a new Lakers trio that will feature him, Dončić, and Austin Reaves.