Utah Jazz Mailbag: What To Make Of Walker Kessler Threes?
Mar 18, 2025, 2:12 PM
Head Coach Will Hardy of the Utah Jazz talks to Walker Kessler #24 (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag where this week we look at Walker Kessler’s three-point shooting.
Each week we will send out a prompt on X and BlueSky asking for the questions you have about the Jazz.
Then, we’ll respond to as many as we can in that week’s Jazz mailbag.
Jazz Mailbag: What Do We Make Of Kessler’s Three-Point Shooting?
1. How good of a prospect is Cooper Flagg really? What is his comp?
2. What are your thoughts on Walker Kessler suddenly shooting more 3’s?
— Jake The Lynx (@jakethelynx.bsky.social) March 17, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Question: What are your thoughts on Walker Kessler suddenly shooting more Threes?
Answer: With just over a dozen games left to play in the season, and the Jazz having little to play for in the way of wins and losses, the next month can serve as an opportunity for the team to expand its players’ skills.
For Kessler, who has proven to be a terrific rim-running big man who can protect the rim on one end, and catch lobs on the other, adding a floor spacing element to his game would make him all the more dangerous.
Jazz coach Will Hardy spoke about Kessler’s three-point shooter after Monday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls.
“Through two games, I felt pretty good about the threes that he’s found,” Hardy said. “I have utmost confidence if he continues to work on and feel more comfortable that the results of make and miss will go in his favor.”
things we love to see: Walker threes 💜🤠#TakeNote | @WalkerKessler13 pic.twitter.com/itgvNPkI6A
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 17, 2025
Kessler also spoke on the added dynamic of making opposing defenses guess where he’ll move after setting a screen.
“Picking a popping, when you have that threat to make the three, that [opposing] five has got a rush out, then you can drive, go second side, [dribble hand off] — it opens up a lot of things,” Kessler said.
With that in mind, expect to see Kessler continue to shoot 4-6 threes per game for the remainder of the year as the team tests to see its future viability.
But, before you get too excited about the Jazz center evolving into the next Brook Lopez, let me pitch a more sinister idea to you.
Kessler shooting threes, and shooting them poorly is helping the Jazz lose games.
Collin Sexton’s reaction to Walker Kessler’s 6TH three-point attempt of the game gave me a good laugh.
Kessler finished 1-6 from 3-point range.#TakeNote @KSLSports pic.twitter.com/piRpSvaaBj— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_TV) March 17, 2025
Over the last two games, the third-year big man is 1-11 from the three-point line, and those threes are taking the place of other, better looks the Jazz could generate within the offense.
With an offensive rating of just over 110 this season, the Jazz can expect each possession to be worth roughly 1.1 points.
Kessler has generated three total points in 11 possessions, leading to an offensive rating of just over 27, or an expected .27 points per possession.
While that may not seem like a lot, that’s a difference of nearly six points per game had the Jazz just run their traditional offensive sets.
For reference, five of the Jazz’s 15 wins this season have come by five points or fewer, wins that would have been losses had the team lowered its offensive output by six points.
That isn’t to say the Jazz aren’t legitimately interested in Kessler’s potential as a three-point shooter, and recognize this is a chance for him to take those shots in live game situations, it also lowers their likelihood of winning games.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports, the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone, and the author of the Jazz Mailbag. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
