Walker Kessler
Age 25 · 7'1" · 245 lb
Pick #22, 2022 Draft · Rookie 2023 · 201 games
DPM · #129 of 530
+0.7Game by game
Seismograph
DARKO updates every rating after every game. The lines show the rating going into each game; the bars show how much each game moved it, split into offense and defense.
- Season change
- -0.39
- +1.04 before the first game, +0.65 at the end
- Biggest boost
- +0.37
- Oct 22 vs LAC · 29 min
- Biggest drop
- -0.36
- Oct 31 vs PHX · 29 min
- Typical change per game
- 0.24
- Average size of a game's change this season. Smaller changes mean each game moves DARKO's view less.
Historical comps
Comps & futures
The ten most similar player-seasons since 1996-97 at the same age, and what happened to them next.
| Comp | Age | DPM then | Next 5 seasons | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joakim Noah 2009-10 | 25 | +1.1 | +1.8, +1.8, +1.5, +2.7, +2.0 | 86 |
| Kyle O'Quinn 2014-15 | 25 | +0.2 | -0.7, -0.9, +0.7, -0.5, -1.8 | 85 |
| Andrew Bogut 2008-09 | 24 | +0.6 | +2.6, +2.0, +0.6, +0.8, +2.5 | 85 |
| Tyson Chandler 2006-07 | 24 | +1.2 | +2.9, +1.5, +0.5, +3.0, +2.1 | 85 |
| Kosta Koufos 2013-14 | 25 | 0.0 | +0.6, -1.1, -0.9, -0.2, -1.1 | 85 |
| Larry Sanders 2013-14 | 25 | +0.3 | +0.2, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 84 |
| Jared Sullinger 2015-16 | 24 | 0.0 | -0.6, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 84 |
| Jakob Poeltl 2019-20 | 24 | +1.4 | +1.8, +1.7, +2.2, +2.1, +2.3 | 84 |
| Brad Miller 2000-01 | 25 | +0.1 | +1.3, +2.3, +3.7, +3.4, +3.4 | 84 |
| Clint Capela 2018-19 | 24 | +1.2 | +0.7, +2.3, +1.9, +1.1, +1.1 | 84 |
The 25 player-seasons since 1996-97 closest to Walker's 2025-26 at the same age: DPM and its offense/defense split, the two seasons before, box-score profile, height, experience and age. Each comp counts once, at his closest season, weighted by the match. Hover or focus a comp to trace his next five seasons. A website presentation, not a DARKO model output.
Value
Contract & longevity
DARKO's fair salary from projected wins against Walker Kessler's salary, and the odds of still being on an NBA roster in each coming season.
- Fair value
- $13.6M
- DARKO's market estimate
- Salary
- $4.9M
- Actual
- Surplus
- +$8.8M
- Value minus salary
- Seasons left
- 0.9
- Projected
- Retires at
- 25.9
- Projected age
Career
Season by season
DPM going into each season's last game, since 1996-97.
| Season | Team | Age | Games | MPG | DPM | Off | Def | For his age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | UTA | 24 | 5 | 30.8 | +0.65 | -0.51 | +1.16 | — |
| 2024-25 | UTA | 23 | 58 | 30.0 | +0.71 | -0.20 | +0.91 | 184th of 1100 |
| 2023-24 | UTA | 22 | 64 | 23.3 | +0.61 | -0.60 | +1.21 | 132nd of 813 |
| 2022-23 | UTA | 21 | 74 | 23.1 | +1.35 | +0.33 | +1.03 | 35th of 571 |
Games are regular season; +n are playoff games. "For his age" ranks the season's DPM among every season at the same age since 1996-97 with 20 or more games. A season's DPM opens the leaderboard on its last game day.
Projections
Projected box score
DARKO's per-100 projections, and per game at 16.4 projected minutes and a pace of 94.4.
| Stat | Per 100 | Per game |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 18.6 | 6.0 |
| Rebounds | 17.9 | 5.8 |
| Offensive | 6.6 | 2.1 |
| Defensive | 11.2 | 3.6 |
| Assists | 3.3 | 1.1 |
| Steals | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Blocks | 3.0 | 1.0 |
| Turnovers | 2.5 | 0.8 |
| 3-pt attempts | 5.3 | 1.7 |
| FG attempts | 15.1 | 4.9 |
| FT attempts | 4.4 | 1.4 |
| FG% · 3P% · FT% | 54.7% · 28.7% · 54.7% | |