Kings Sink Jazz 118-101 Despite Historic Kessler Outing
Feb 26, 2025, 10:34 PM
Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) looks to pass the ball with blood dripping down his face (Credit: Tess Crowley, Deseret News)
(Credit: Tess Crowley, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Sacramento Kings steamrolled the Jazz on Wednesday night finding little resistance from Utah’s underwhelming defense.
The Kings improved to 30-28 by shooting 53 percent from the floor, 42 percent from the three-point line, and 92 percent from the free-throw line as they dropped the Jazz to 14-44 on the season.
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Walker Kessler Has Historic Performance Against Kings
Walker Kessler had arguably the best game of his young career against the Kings and placed his name in the record books alongside two of the greatest centers in NBA history.
Kessler became only the third center in league history to record at least 25 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists without missing a field goal attempt.
The Jazz center joins Wilt Chamberlain, the most statistically dominant player in NBA history, and Nikola Jokic, the best player alive today, as the only players to do it.
Walker Kessler is only the THIRD player in NBA history to record a game of 25 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting 100% from the floor.
Wilt Chamberlain did it 6 times. Nikola Jokic has done it once.
That’s insane.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) February 27, 2025
While nobody will pretend that Kessler deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as two of the top 15 players ever to dribble a basketball, it’s notable how far the Jazz center has come from his difficult sophomore season.
After being named to the All-Rookie team in 2023, Kessler’s play fell off dramatically in his second season. The Auburn product suffered an elbow injury eight games into the year, and never regained his full-time starting position.
Kessler recorded just seven double-doubles as a sophomore and went through long stretches where he looked disengaged on the floor.
Wednesday’s double-double was his 24th of the 2024-25 season, with 24 games left to play.
In a league that Jokic currently dominates, with Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren waiting in the wings, having a high-level center will be a premium over the next decade.
While the Jazz rebuild still has plenty of unanswered questions, their starting center isn’t one of them.
KJ Martin Continues To Impress For Jazz
Starting alongside Kessler, KJ Martin had his best outing in a Jazz uniform.
The bouncy forward recorded 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists in a team-high 34 minutes while shooting 6-10 from the floor.
Martin has a strong understanding of floor spacing and finds shots within offense without having to have plays drawn up for him to score.
The 24-year-old had four dunks against the Kings, all coming off of baseline cuts in the half-court, or by running the floor in transition.
KJ corner three ✅ pic.twitter.com/xjOb7F3uV4
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 27, 2025
The Jazz have terrific athletes in the frontcourt in John Collins, Lauri Markkanen, and Kessler, but none of the three combine Martin’s ability to run and jump so fluidly.
The new Jazzman also added two made threes on four attempts.
“The past couple of games, I’m still playing hard and still taking the shots that I normally would take,” Martin said. “Obviously, tonight they were falling, so I felt good.”
Despite his excellent night, Martin isn’t truly a specialist in any one area. He’s a more physical defender than most players on this Jazz roster but hasn’t proven to be a defensive stopper historically.
He was shooting 38 percent from the three-point line with the Philadelphia 76ers before the trade deadline but shoots only 33 percent for his career.
Until Martin proves he can either defend or shoot the three at a high level consistently, he may be best utilized as a second-unit wing capable of the occasional big outing.
But considering the Jazz gave up next to nothing to acquire him, he’s been a surprisingly productive acquisition.
Utah Jazz Next Broadcast
The Jazz will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday at 7:30 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on KJZZ, streamed on Jazz+, and heard on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
