Walker Kessler's 12-for-12 debut, and what one night moved for him and Curry
Kessler scored 26 on perfect shooting in the Lakers' 127-105 rout of Golden State, and the same blowout held Stephen Curry to 21 minutes three days after his ankle sprain.
By James · 2 min read
Walker KesslerStephen CurryLuka DončićPhotos: NBAFreeWalker Kessler made all twelve of his shots in his first regular-season game for the Lakers on Wednesday, scoring 26 points with nine rebounds and two blocks in 30 minutes of a 127-105 win over Golden State. NBA.com's recap noted that he was the first Lakers center to shoot perfectly on at least twelve attempts since Wilt Chamberlain in 1969, and the box score our projections read from ESPN overnight has the same line. Luka Dončić added 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and the Lakers led by as many as 35.
- Walker Kessler LAL47thvs 49th
- Stephen Curry GSW44thvs 32nd
- Luka Dončić LAL3rdvs 3rd
One game is a small sample, and our projections are built to treat it as one, so the interesting question is not whether Kessler will shoot 100% again but what the night told us about his role. The same blowout also answers part of the question we raised after Stephen Curry's ankle sprain: he played, and played well early, but only for 21 minutes.
| Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Blocks | Projected points a game, before | After | Our points rank, after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walker Kessler | 30 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 36.0 | 37.2 | 47th |
| Luka Dončić | 30 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 60.4 | 57.9 | 3rd |
| Stephen Curry | 21 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 42.7 | 39.2 | 44th |
Kessler's role is the starter's role
What matters more than the twelve makes is the 30 minutes. Our preseason projection had Kessler at 31.1 minutes as the Lakers' starting center, and Wednesday was the first evidence that Los Angeles sees him the same way after trading for him. Our projection now has him at 12.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks on 68.9% from the field, up from 11.6 points before the game, which moves him to 37.2 fantasy points a game under ESPN's standard points scoring and 47th on our points board, against 49th in the analysts' consensus. In 9-cat he is 37th, and the field-goal percentage and blocks are the reason, while 59% from the line is the cost. The risk is the same one he carried in Utah: his free throws hurt a 9-cat team that is not punting them, and two of his four attempts on Wednesday missed.
Curry's 21 minutes look like the blowout, not the ankle
Curry scored 16 of his 23 points in the first quarter, according to NBA.com, in a game the Lakers led by as many as 35. Nothing reported since says the ankle limited him, and a deficit that size is reason enough for a coach to rest a 38-year-old. Our projections read his minutes off his most recent games, so the short night took his projection from 31.8 minutes to 29.1, and his rank on our points board from 31st to 44th. That is the arithmetic working as designed on one game, and a normal night will move most of it back.
Dončić's turnovers
Dončić's line looked like his usual one, but he turned it over six times and shot 7-for-18 by ESPN's box score, which is why his projection dipped from 60.4 to 57.9 fantasy points a game. He is still third on our points board and fourth in 9-cat, and nothing here changes that.
What to do
Treat Kessler as the starting center our projections always said he was, and in 9-cat leagues that punt free throws value him as a top-40 player. Hold Curry and start him in the Warriors' next game, since a blowout is the likeliest reason for his minutes. Our projections page will show all three lines move again after the next game.
Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.
