Singing up Kevon Looney to be the backup for Walker Kessler on the Los Angeles Lakers was met with some initial skepticism from the moment of the news breaking. Those doubts are warranted, but the Lakers are not without upside if this is the pairing they choose to move forward with.
Having Looney as the primary backup does present very legitimate risk for multiple reasons. If nothing else, the Lakers can be mightily assured of one key thing working in their favor. That would be the fact that their two centers can absolutely clean the glass on both ends of the court.
Per-36 minutes, Kessler averages 13.2 rebounds per game throughout his young NBA career. That includes a whopping 4.8 of those coming on the offensive glass.
Looney has similarly exceled in both of those departments as well during his time in the NBA. Sticking with the per-36 for consistency, the Lakers' new backup has averaged 11.9 rebounds per game over his playing days in the league, including 4.5 on offensive boards.
If the plan is to use Kessler and Looney as the two main centers in the rotation, the Lakers should receive a much-needed boost to their presence on the glass.
Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney should turn rebounding into a positive for the Lakers
How did the Lakers stack up on the glass in 2025-26? If you guessed very poorly, you would be correct.
The Lakers ranked in the bottom 10 of the league when it came to rebounds per game with 41.0 a night. That placed them 27th, above the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Milwaukee Bucks. They were the only playoff team to finish within those last 10 spots on the rebounding ranks.
Los Angeles was also 29th in offensive rebounds per game (9.4) and 28th in second chance points a night last season (12.8). Those are all departments that having Kessler and Looney should improve.
When the Lakers had Deandre Ayton cleaning the glass last season, they were winning those ball games at a pretty effective pace. Los Angeles posted an 11-2 record in the 2025-26 regular season when Ayton collected 12 boards. They were 20-7 when it was at least 10 rebounds.
The Lakers will not have to plead with Kessler to do those things either. That should come naturally to him. It will be just as straightforward of a task for Looney off the bench, too.
The combo of those two may not be perfect. However, the Lakers can at least rest easy knowing that if they cannot find further upgrades, the rebounding battle should be routinely won by the new frontcourt in Los Angeles.
Add us as a preferred source on Google