Walker Kessler went 12-for-12 in his Lakers debut. That number should scare the rest of the Western Conference more than anything in Luka Doncic’s box score from the same night.
Doncic’s night says the offense survives fine as a one-man operation: 28 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals on 7-for-18 shooting. Kessler’s night says the Lakers finally have size that finishes plays instead of just occupying space near the rim. The rest of the West has spent a decade only needing a plan for one Lakers problem at a time. In a 127-105 beatdown of the Golden State Warriors, they needed two plans on opening night, and both problems were historically efficient.
This also happened to be the Lakers’ first game without LeBron James since 2017. LeBron spent the offseason resetting in Philadelphia with the 76ers, and the roster he left behind didn’t blink.
I hate the Lakers.
Have for years, and I’m not shy about it. Admitting this still stings: opening night looked less like a rebuild finding its footing and more like a problem the rest of the West isn’t equipped to handle yet.
Kessler’s 12-for-12 wasn’t just a hot shooting night — it’s the first time a Laker has shot 100% on 12-plus field goal attempts since Wilt Chamberlain in 1969.
Wilt Chamberlain.
The last century’s most unguardable big man is the nearest comparison on the books. Ten dunks in one night, from a team that’s been thin at the rim for years, looks exactly like what the front office paid for in July.
None of this was luck for the Los Angeles Lakers. They traded two unprotected first-round picks and two future swap rights to Utah for Kessler, then signed him to a four-year, $130 million contract over the summer. Grading that trade looked premature back in July. It looks like theft in October.
Kessler missed most of last season recovering from a shoulder labral tear. Going 12-for-12 in his first night back healthy is the kind of update front offices dream about and rarely get this clean.
Golden State was shorthanded, missing Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis and Moses Moody. Stephen Curry still led the Warriors with 23 points, and it barely registered against the final score. The absences explain some of the margin. They don’t explain Kessler’s shooting percentage, and they don’t explain Doncic running the offense alone and making it look routine.
SportsCenter noticed too.
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/2113125714752839791
They’re not wrong, but “new era” undersells it. LeBron’s exit to Philadelphia closed the book on one era; Doncic and Kessler just opened a messier one for the rest of the conference to solve.
Good luck game-planning for both.
