Okay so today I wanted to figure out exactly which NBA team actually pulled the trigger on drafting Walker Kessler. Saw a bunch of different stuff online saying Utah, Memphis… it was getting confusing. Wanted the real deal, you know?
First thing I did? Grabbed my laptop and just jumped on the NBA’s main site. Figured they gotta have the official draft record somewhere, right? Scrolled around a bit, found their big archive section. Went straight to the 2022 NBA Draft results page. Took a minute to load, like it always does.
Then I saw it – the whole list, first round, second round… just names and teams. Scrolled down to the first round, past guys like Banchero and Holmgren. Kessler wasn’t there. Kept scrolling down, deeper into the second round. Second round picks always feel like digging for treasure.
Got to pick number 22… second round, pick 22 overall. And there it was: Walker Kessler. My eyes scanned left to see who picked him. Memphis Grizzlies? Seriously? That’s not what I expected! I thought Utah for sure. Was ready to write down “Memphis”. But something felt off. I’d heard Utah rumors way too much. Huh.
Okay, time for step two. My gut said just seeing Memphis listed wasn’t the whole story. Basketball is full of trades, especially draft night chaos. So I went hunting for a record of the trade. This took longer. Had to look through different legit basketball news sites – ESPN, NBA’s trade tracker stuff. Scrolled through boring contract language and “future considerations”. Then, bingo!
Ran into a bunch of folks arguing online about it, confirming what I found. Looks like this:
- Memphis Grizzlies did technically draft Walker Kessler with that #22 pick.
- BUT, (and it’s a big but), they already had a deal cooking with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
- Memphis sent pick #22 (which became Kessler) AND pick #29 to MINNESOTA!
- What? Minnesota drafted him for Memphis? Then Minnesota turned around and… nope. Not done yet.
- THEN, like two minutes later on the clock probably, Minnesota traded Kessler’s rights AGAIN!
- Yep. Minnesota sent pick #22 (Kessler) to UTAH JAZZ. Utah gave them picks #30 and #34.
What a mess! Seriously, draft night trades are wild. So to break it down, plain and simple:
Who actually drafted him? Memphis Grizzlies.
But who does he play for? Utah Jazz.
Why? Because Memphis traded that pick (and Kessler) to Minnesota during the draft, and Minnesota immediately flipped Kessler to Utah.
So Memphis gets the official “drafted by” line on the league record. But he never put on a Memphis hat or anything. Utah pulled the strings to get him right then and there.
Kind of funny if you think about it. Memphis drafted him but never really “had” him, even for a hot second. The draft receipt says Memphis, but his home was always Utah. Just took a detour through Minnesota!
