Walker Kessler in pool for U.S. Olympic basketball team

Walker Kessler in pool for U.S. Olympic basketball team

After playing for the United States at the FIBA World Cup last year, Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler is among the 41 players from whom the U.S. men’s basketball team for the 2024 Summer Olympics will be selected.

USA Basketball announced its player pool on Tuesday, and the former Auburn standout was listed among current NBA stars such as Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, James Harden, LeBron James and Chris Paul.

Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors will coach the U.S. Olympic team. He also coached Kessler at the FIBA World Cup, where the United States came in fourth.

In 36 games for the Jazz this season, Kessler has averaged 8.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots per game. He ranks third in the NBA in blocked shots, but his blocked-shot rate of 10 percent is the best in the NBA. (The blocked-shot rate is the percent of opponent’s 2-point shots blocked by a player when he is on the court.)

Kessler led the nation in blocked shots and won the National Association of Basketball Coaches Defensive Player of the Year Award while playing for Auburn in the 2021-22 season.

Chosen at No. 22 by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2022 NBA Draft, Kessler averaged 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while playing in 74 games, with 40 starts, for Utah after being traded twice before his first NBA season.

Kessler was a member of the NBA All-Rookie team and finished third in the voting for the KIA NBA Rookie of the Year Award for the 2022-23 season.

The Olympic men’s basketball tournament will be played from July 27 through Aug. 10 in Paris. The United States will be represented by the 12-player team as it seeks its fifth consecutive gold medal.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.