Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) dunks during the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023.
Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
19 games might not seem like many, but it could be just enough for Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler to make a final run at the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.
On Thursday the NBA announced that Kessler has been named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played during February. The league also announced the Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero had been named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the third consecutive month.
Banchero is currently leading the Rookie of the Year race and would probably be most people’s choice for the award if the season ended today. But Kessler is not far behind and continues to make a really good case for himself. It would take a really strong push from Kessler and probably a bit of a drop from Banchero and the Magic, but crazier things have happened.
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In the month of February, Kessler averaged 10.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game while being the only rookie to average a double-double. His 3.2 blocks per game ranks second among all NBA players for the last month. With just 60 NBA games under his belt, Kessler ranks fourth in the NBA in total blocks this season.
But, in addition to his staggering stats, Kessler’s …read more
Source:: Deseret News – Sports News
