Walker Kessler will officially not return to the Utah Jazz but will instead be joining the Los Angeles Lakers. While certainly a big name to switch teams, Kessler is definitely not the first Jazz alum to make this transition.
Quite a few Jazz players went on to join the Lakers over the years. Did it work out for them? Sometimes, but not always a given. With that said, let's take a look at the 10 most notable Jazzmen that went on to become Lakers.
Note that this specifically concerns Jazzmen who became Lakers, which will not include the other way around. So, with all due respect to Jazz legend Adrian Dantley, former Jazz fan favorite Jordan Clarkson, and even current Jazzman Svi Mykhailiuk, they won't be on this list.
If you've watched the Jazz for some time, you probably know who No. 1 is.
10. Jarred Vanderbilt
Yeah, that should give you a glimpse on how unimpressive this list is overall, even if there are certainly some big Jazz names who migrated to LA. Anyway, Vanderbilt was only a Jazzman for half a season. He did just fine in Utah, but the writing was on the wall from the jump that he was not going to be on the team for long.
So why is he even on the list? Especially knowing that the Lakers have been trying to get rid of him for years? Well, Vanderbilt was the bridge between transitioning him away from the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert era to starting the next one with Jaren Jackson Jr., as the pick Utah got from LA from the deal led to the JJJ trade.
It doesn't count for a whole lot, but it deserves a mention on this list.
9. Spencer Haywood
Haywood is on here more for his NBA legacy than his Jazz legacy, as he only spent one year on the team, back when they were in New Orleans. In fact, when he found out they were going to Utah, he wanted out.
It worked out for all sides when you think about it. Haywood was traded to the Lakers where he won his sole championship the following season, but the Jazz got their hands on Adrian Dantley, one of the best players in franchise history.
His time on the team was brief, but he is one of the biggest NBA names to ever wear a Jazz jersey.
8. Wes Matthews
Matthews only spent a year in Utah, but he was an impressive story with the Jazz. An undrafted free agent who worked his way into becoming a rotation player as the sun started to set in the Deron Williams era - yeah, Matthews was a nice story.
It's a shame it didn't turn into something more, as Matthews jumped ship the year after, going on to become a glue guy over the next several years in Portland and Dallas. Even so, Jazz fans still remember Matthews quite fondly. So much so that they don't care that he joined the Lakers to ring-chase in 2021.
It didn't work out, which is a shame, especially because Matthews tried multiple times to do this and came a year after his new team won the title (first the Lakers, then the Bucks). Matthews was still a great underdog story, and it's a privilege to know that it started in Utah.
7. Collin Sexton
Kessler's not the only Jazz alum to have joined the Lakers this summer. Sexton and Kessler will reunite in LA, where they will hope to be the best team around Luka Doncic. Sexton didn't have much of an impact in Utah, but he embraced the team and Salt Lake City.
For everything Sexton wasn't, he was a quality scorer who was efficient at what he did. Sadly, he became expendable when it became clear what direction the Jazz were headed. Plus, in the end, trading him led to Jusuf Nurkic, who everyone embraced last year, so it wasn't a total loss.
Getting him also indirectly helped secure the Jazz's future. No one disliked Sexton, so even if he is playing for the enemy, fans should wish him all the best.
6. Derek Fisher
Admittingly, this is cheating, as Fisher played for the Lakers before he joined the Jazz, but he also played for the Jazz right before he re-joined the Lakers. Fisher was a solid player who helped winning teams, and he even had his own Jazz legacy, as brief as his tenure was.
Regardless of how short his time was in Utah, Fisher was part of the most successful Jazz team that didn't feature Karl Malone or John Stockton. He was arguably the best backup guards to put behind Deron Williams, providing veteran leadership to a team that needed it.
He then went on to win two more titles with the Lakers. It's not like his departure really hurt the Jazz in some way, and knowing that they did right by him makes it heartwarming to *some* degree.
5. Greg Foster
Now this is a big piece of Jazz trivia for any of you NBA historians out there. Foster was in Utah for the peak of the Malone-Stockton era. He was a back-up big, but played a role in how the Jazz achieved their highest feat as a franchise.
Would they have made those NBA Finals without him? Maybe to probably, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he was absolutely a part of those teams. His NBA career was on its last legs when he joined the Lakers three years later, but hey, he went out on top as part of the Lakers roster that repeated in 2001.
He might be a little high, but even if he's not the most memorable Jazz alum, he undeniably played on winners.
4. Bryon Russell
Russell is in the same ballpark as Foster, except Jazz fans remember who Russell is more than they remember Foster. Russell was a defensive specialist along the perimeter for Utah, who fans remember primarily as the guy who was the victim of "The Pushoff" in the 1998 NBA Finals.
No, we won't share that video because Jazz fans know about that like the back of their hand. Even so, Russell was a more important member of the best Jazz teams at their peak.
But sadly, Russell joined the Lakers around the end of his career too (a common theme for a lot of these Jazz alumni). By the time he did, he was firmly an innings eater in the regular seson and a benchwarmer in the playoffs. Like Matthews, he was ring-chasing, which ultimately did not succeed.
3. Carlos Boozer
Boozer is still such a well-remembered Jazzman that it's easy to forget that his swan song was in LA. Boozer became an All-Star, All-NBA member, and Olympian in his six years in Utah. He was also an integral part of that 2007 team that made it to the Western Conference Finals.
He may not have bene the best player on those teams, but he was money well spent. Even now, he's remembered so fondly that he works for the team. He spent the remainder of his prime in Chicago, but after they amnestied him, he donned the purple and gold.
It didn't lead to much, as the Lakers were at the tail end of the Kobe Bryant era. By then, Boozer's All-Star days were very much gone, but he was a solid attempt to bring in a big name to salvage what they could.
2. Walker Kessler
Kessler will probably usurp No. 1 on this list if he stays with the Lakers long-term. Given that Luka Doncic pushed for him, odds are Kessler will be in LA for a long time. In a way, that can be painful for Jazz fans, but they likely understand why.
Kessler is a quality starting center who, sadly, never had the chance to see his contributions go into something worthwhile in Utah. Even so, he showed out well enough that the Lakers were more than happy to pay him whatever he wanted.
Now, of course, the Jazz will wish the Lakers the worst going forward, but not because of Kessler. Rather, they hope the assets they got back will pay off for them in the end.
Why is Kessler ranked above Jazzmen who did more for the Jazz than he did? Because he probably will be the best investment the Lakers have ever made in a Jazz alum, compared to the others who joined LA for a shot at a ring.
1. Karl Malone
Yeah, you probably knew this was coming. When anyone thinks of an NBA player who played for the Jazz and Lakers, the first name that will come up will be the best player that ever wore a Jazz uniform. When Stockton retired from basketball, Malone decided to go for one last shot at a championship.
Anyone who was there knows what happened next.
There are two blemishes specifcally on Malone's legacy in Utah: One, he didn't win a title and two, he joined the Lakers. It really was a shame because he and the Jazz were the one obstacle those Shaq and Kobe teams never technically got past.
That doesn't take away from how iconic Malone was for the Jazz. He stuck it out in Utah through thick and thin and only left when his heyday was gone. It's a shame that his career ended in Hollywood, but there's a reason why he's still considered perhaps the most memorable player to ever be associated with the Utah Jazz.
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