Walker Kessler compared to former Defensive Player of the Year (but not Rudy Gobert)

The Walker Kessler hype train is humming again. After an offseason where his name was constantly floated in trade rumors, Kessler is figuring himself out. Averaging a double-double while re-establishing himself as a rim protector, it's clear Kessler is not going anywhere.

Is it leading to the defensive results the Jazz want? No, but hardly anyone would say that's Kessler's fault. Kessler isn't Rudy Gobert, but the Jazz aren't asking him to be. It'd be downright ridiculous to ask the third-year Jazzman to play on the same level as one of the best defenders in NBA history.

Even if he likely won't be as good as Gobert was for the Jazz at his peak, Kessler could still be one of the NBA's best defenders and most impactful players in due time. The Athletic's Tony Jones compared Kessler to another former Defensive Player of the Year who may not have been as impactful as Gobert but was one of the best rim protectors of his era.

Camby won the award in 2007, made four All-Defense teams, regularly averaged double-doubles at the top of his game, and led the NBA blocks four separate times. He never made an All-Star team, but he helped multiple teams go on multiple playoff runs in his heyday, most notably the Knicks in 1999 when they made a surprise run to the NBA Finals.

He wasn't one of the best players in the NBA at his peak but he was a piece of the puzzle for playoff teams.

Setting the bar for Kessler at Camby is reasonable

Kessler does many of the same things Gobert did in Utah. While he's not quite on the same level as Gobert, and odds are he never will be, he's not too far off. That's why the Camby comparison fits so well.

Camby wasn't quite as accomplished as Gobert, but he had an impressive resume when his career ended. Anyone familiar with Camby's career knows it's fair to argue that his resume may have been better had he not been snakebitten by injuries.

Kessler is on a trajectory similar to Camby's. He's a double-double machine who racks up the blocks, contributing to why the Jazz are competitive despite being a bad team. Knowing the Kessler rumors throughout the offseason last year, the irony is that Camby was traded two years into his lengthy NBA career.

Camby may have never made an All-Star team, but those who watched the NBA then remember his impact when he took the floor. It didn't take long for Kessler to make a name for himself in the NBA, and it's been his mission this season to prove that last season was a mere speed bump in what will likely been an impressive NBA career on the horizon.

The Jazz will need to improve in other areas, but if Kessler turns out to be the healthier version of Marcus Camby, it's still a home run for them, even if it won't be the grand slam Gobert was.