Walker Kessler Goes 12-for-12 as Lakers Rout Warriors in Opener

Kessler scored 26 with 10 dunks, five of them fed by Luka Dončić, as a Warriors team short on size lost 127-105.

The Lakers opened their season by routing the Golden State Warriors 127-105 at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, according to TheSportsDB, and Walker Kessler never missed. ESPN's Pacific Division standings have them 1-0, tied with the Clippers, who also won Wednesday and are their next opponent.

Kessler went 12-for-12 from the field for 26 points, Yahoo Sports reported. Ten of those 12 were dunks. Silver Screen and Roll pointed out that no Laker had gone perfect on 12 or more shots since Wilt Chamberlain in 1969.

No Laker had dunked that often in one game since Shaquille O'Neal in 2003, Yahoo Sports noted. Luka Dončić threw the lob on the night's first basket, according to ESPN's play-by-play, and set up five of the 10 dunks by Yahoo's count. Kessler arrived in a sign-and-trade worth $130 million over four years, and Yahoo said that Dončić-to-Kessler connection was the kind of two-man game the Lakers had in mind when they made the deal.

Now the Warriors' front office has a 7-foot-2 problem. With Kristaps Porziņģis out indefinitely, Warriors On SI reported, Golden State's bigs run from Draymond Green, listed at 6-foot-6, to rookie Graham Ike at 6-foot-10. After the game, the site argued Golden State should trade for a true center, naming Milwaukee's Myles Turner as the best fit. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody were also out, Yahoo reported.

Dončić led all scorers with 28. He spent much of the night going at Yaxel Lendeborg, Golden State's rookie and the No. 12 overall pick, Yahoo Sports reported. The two kept talking through the second quarter until Lendeborg picked up a technical, Silver Screen and Roll reported.

Then Dončić banked in a 49-foot shot at the halftime buzzer, according to ESPN's play-by-play, and pointed at the rookie, Yahoo reported. The Lakers went into the half up 14. To be fair to Lendeborg, he still finished with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, Warriors On SI reported.

Stephen Curry scored 23 for Golden State, but Warriors On SI noted he didn't make a field goal after the first quarter. The Warriors shot 8-of-36 from three, according to ESPN, and the Lakers led by as many as 35. Austin Reaves added 23 points, Silver Screen and Roll reported.

The one bad moment came late. Jake LaRavia seemed to turn his ankle driving to the basket in garbage time, Yahoo Sports reported. By Yahoo's count, he's one of just three holdovers from last season, along with Dončić and Reaves, among the nine Lakers who played before the bench emptied. Yahoo also noted it was the team's first opener without LeBron James on the roster since 2017.

The Clippers are up Friday, according to Silver Screen and Roll. Whoever draws Kessler gets two days to figure out how to make him miss once.

Source: ESPN, retrieved October 22, 2026. Other sources: sports.yahoo.com, silverscreenandroll.com, si.com.