Meet the Rule-Bending Trio Set to Explode in LA: Inside the Lakers’ Unconventional Big 3

Los Angeles Lakers of year 0 post LeBron James will need their new "Big 3" , led by Luka Doncic , to look dominant in order to win their 18th championship ring after four seasons without making the playoffs .

Doncic has already proven that he is a great NBA star, Austin Reaves must reach the All-Star level and the giant Walker Kessler (2.18 m) has to transform into an elite defensive center.

Who is the enigmatic Walker Kessler, the 7-foot-2 center who can change Lakers history?

Kessler (25 years old) comes from playing only five games last season after suffering a tear in his left shoulder that required surgery and ended his campaign.

At the core of every great Lakers team is a dominant big man. Walker Kessler has established himself as one of the elite centers capable of performing at a very high level on both offense and defense

To complete this particular "Big 3," the Lakers mortgaged their future for Kessler, giving up two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps in a sign-and-trade deal with the Jazz, which means they will not have any tradable first-round picks for the next seven years.

"At the core of every great Lakers team is a dominant big man. Walker Kessler has established himself as one of the elite centers capable of performing at a very high level on both offense and defense. When the opportunity arose to pair a rim-protecting big man and finisher with our two star pick-and-roll guards, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, we didn't let it slip away," said Rob Pelinka , president of basketball operations and general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, about Kessler.

Kessler appeared in 58 games (all as a starter) for the Jazz during the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.4 blocks in 30.0 minutes of play. That season, he led the NBA with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game, ranked second in blocks, and finished fifth in total rebounds.

With the investment they have made, the Lakers are showing that confidence, not only in monetary terms, but also through draft assets

In 201 regular-season games over four NBA seasons with Utah (2022-26), Kessler has averaged 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 2.4 blocks in 25.3 minutes.

Since making his NBA debut in the 2022-23 season, only Victor Wembanyama has averaged more blocks per game than Kessler .

The connection formed by Doncic and Reaves excites Los Angeles

At the Lakers, they are rubbing their hands together over the great chemistry Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves showed in the games LeBron James was out with sciatica.

'Reaves, the Lakers' "Hillbilly Kobe", signed this summer the most lucrative contract for an undrafted player (four years and 180 million).'

Kessler committed to the Lakers for four years and 130 million dollars , which led him to say that he would be able to run through a wall for them.

"It makes you feel special to know that an organization believes in you. With the investment they've made, the Lakers show that trust, not only in monetary terms, but also through draft assets. If I know they trust me, I'm capable of running through a brick wall for them. That's how I've always been," the center said.

In August 2025, Doncic signed a 3-year, $165 million contract extension .

The "Big 3" made up of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler will have to face in the West the powerful trios of the Thunder (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Holmgren), the Spurs (Victor Wembanyama, De"Aaron Fox, and Stephon Castle), and the Nuggets (Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon).