Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Walker Kessler has embraced mental health coaching to improve his perspective.
- Kessler's new mindset has led to career-high averages in points, rebounds, and blocks.
- He finds joy in community activities, emphasizing gratitude and learning from setbacks.
SALT LAKE CITY — Walker Kessler feels a little out of the loop when it comes to this generation of kids' toys.
Back in his home in Georgia, the Utah Jazz center is sure there is still a giant tote of the legos he used to play with growing up — a tote that should include his collection of prized Bionicles.
But as he took nearly a dozen kids from a local Boys and Girls Club holiday shopping this week, he soon realized they don't make 'em like they used to.
Or, if they do, the kids don't necessarily want them.
"Learned a lot about the new toys nowadays — they're a lot different," Kessler said. "There was one girl who got slime as a gift — that was what she wanted. So I was learning a lot."
Kessler, though, understands change. The third-year center feels different this season.
His sophomore season didn't live up to a promising rookie campaign. His numbers fell across the board and he was pushed to the bench to start games. It wasn't uncommon to see Kessler — who is normally wise-cracking and boisterous — sitting solemnly at his locker following a game in heavy reflection of what went wrong.
That image just about summed up his second year in the NBA.
So last summer, Kessler asked his agency to get him in touch with a mental health coach to try to help him work on his, at times, overly negative thoughts.
The results?
"It's a work in progress," he said. "You can always get better, but it's helped me a lot just to to keep an attitude of gratitude and to stay focused on the bigger picture and understand that, instead of thinking those little losses as losses, it's an opportunity to learn, an opportunity to grow."
Kessler tries to meet with the coach once a week for a quick 30-to-45-minute video call to check up on things. He described it as a weekly report that sometimes focuses on basketball and sometimes focuses on life away from the hardwood.
To him, it's not about changing who he is — a natural perfectionist — but instead learning to appreciate things more and his personality as an advantage.
"Reflecting on the fact that when you were a kid you would kill for this opportunity of being in the NBA — not a lot of people have this opportunity," he said. "So be thankful for that, be thankful for the people around you. Gratitude and giving thanks is the biggest weapon against negative thoughts, at least for me."
His own mistakes weighed heavily on him last season. He'd dwell on the missed shots, the missed rebounds, and the opportunities he missed out on. Now, he's learning to use disappointments to get better.
"I shift those moments of negativity and think, 'OK, it didn't work — why didn't it work? Let's grow from it,'" Kessler said. "Not look at it as a step back, but look at it as a different perspective."
The new approach seems to be working (and some added muscle hasn't hurt, either).
In 17 games this season, Kessler is averaging career-highs in points (10.9), rebounds (11.1), field goal percentage (73%), and blocks (3.0). He's become a more focal point of the Jazz offense, with the team using him as a lob threat. And he is second in the league in blocks behind only San Antonio phenom Victor Wembanyama.
That's given him plenty of reasons to smile.
He got an even bigger one earlier this week as he walked around Walmart buying presents for members of the Boys and Girls Club.
"I'm guilty of it, I think everyone's guilty of it. We get worried and tied down by these little things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things," he said. "And then you see a little kid grab their toy and they're smiling; they're so happy. And it's just contagious. You can't be in a bad mood or down on yourself when you're around that. It's a contagious energy."
Especially when he saw the selflessness among the youth. One child said they were saving $100 of their allotted money for their dad to pick out something later. Another bought a teddy bear to give to his mom.
"It helps keep some perspective; it really does," Kessler said. "It was a great, great afternoon. I'm sure they liked the gifts, but it was more rewarding for me than anything."
