Walker Kessler reveals family connection to Minnesota after being drafted by Timberwolves

Coming from the small town of Fairburn, Georgia, it seemed that former Auburn Tigers standout Walker Kessler was in for a culture shock after being drafted No. 22 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2022 NBA Draft.

The cool Minneapolis weather is enough to drive any southern-raised person out of the city for good – but luckily for Kessler, his family now has three generations worth of ties to Minneapolis following Kessler’s big NBA move.

“My dad was actually born in Minneapolis, and then my dad’s dad played for the University of Minnesota – he was a Golden Gopher,” Kessler said. “That was back when. So it’s cool to be in the city and you know, having my dad’s family be from here. It’s crazy how things work out like that, but you know, God works in mysterious ways so to be here now, I mean, it’s just really cool.”

A sophomore for the Tigers this past season, Kessler was one of their premier post players with 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds per game. His 4.6 blocks per game led the SEC, and were more than two ahead of second-place Colin Castleton of Florida. Kessler helped Auburn earn a two seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the second round to Miami.

Last year was Kessler’s first season at Auburn after transferring from North Carolina, where he was limited just 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds across just 8.8 minutes per contest as a freshman. Before that, Kessler was the No. 4 center in the class of 2020 according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He chose to play for the Tar Heels over offers from Duke, Gonzaga, Memphis and others.

The hype has always been there for Kessler – and put that on full display in his breakout season with the Tigers. Now that the competition is a bit more stiff, Kessler’s 7-foot-1, 245-pound frame gives Walker the size and strength to succeed in the NBA – it’s just a matter of using it to his advantage.

“I wish I could say it’s all skill and I think that has a lot to do with it, but obviously length and height help,” Kessler said. “Just learning how to be smart about it. I think a lot of times people get caught up in trying to swing at a lot of balls and because of that get a lot of fouls. Understanding when you can attack the ball and when you’re supposed to go vertical.

“When you should try to jump as high as you can and when you should just try to contest at a low point. Just playing this year and trying to win games and impact the game on the defensive end. Learning a lot about angles and basketball.”