Ranking the top 5 Utah Jazz games from the 2022-23 season
By Jack Simone
Similar to Lauri Markkanen’s monster night in the early days of January, Walker Kessler took the reins just 11 days later. On January 16, 2023, the Jazz squeaked out a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves thanks to a monster performance from Kessler.
The Jazz were without Markkanen, and the Timberwolves were without Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert (who left the game with an injury after just under five minutes), making it a short-handed battle.
Utah squeezed out a 126-125 win as Kessler had one of the best games of his rookie season. The big man finished the night with 20 points, 21 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.
Obviously, Kessler had a 31-point game at another point in the season, but his first 20-20 game was arguably more impressive, as the Jazz needed every single point and rebound to win the game.
Nine of his boards came on the offensive end, including a few clutch rebounds in the final minutes of the game. His dominant rebounding performance was crucial.
Combine the fact that it was a close game that came down to the final moments with Kessler’s huge showing, and this was an easy choice for this list. It didn’t crack the top three, but the next three on the list deserve to be there.