The Utah Jazz started off the 2023 NBA season as one of the more surprising teams in the league. While they were initially projected to join the Victor Wembanyama tanking sweepstakes, they were in the midst of the Western Conference playoff picture up until the final weeks of the regular season. Since they missed the playoffs, they will have a lottery pick at No. 9 overall. While they will get a chance to add a lottery talent to this roster, they already have one in Walker Kessler. Although Kessler was drafted late in the first round, he is a lottery talent. On Wednesday, Walker Kessler took the next leap in his career being named to Team USA for the upcoming FIBA World Cup as per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Originally drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, Kessler was traded on draft night to the Minnesota Timberwolves who then traded him to the Jazz. He started out with sporadic playing time, but by midseason he was a fixture in the Jazz rotation and in the starting lineup. He even made a late push for the Rookie of the Year race.

During the season, Kessler averaged 9.2 points per game, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots with splits of 72 percent shooting from the field, 33.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 51.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Walker Kessler will now get a shot with Team USA to prove himself on the international stage. The FIBA World Cup is set to tip-off on Aug. 23 and run until Sept. 10.