Fireworks! New Lakers Center Walker Kessler Proposed To 2025 Miss America Abbie Stockard

Once again, Walker Kessler sat hunched forward, ears and eyes intently locked onto nan personification whose words would alteration his life.

This wasn’t his bewildering 2022 NBA draught time acquisition captured connected video that began pinch him proceeding commissioner Adam Silver denote he had been chosen by nan Memphis Grizzlies only to study moments later that he had been traded to nan Minnesota Timberwolves, only to study 2 weeks aft that he’d been dealt to nan Utah Jazz.

No, this clip it was astir nan emotion of his life, Abbie Stockard. Glued to a screen, Kessler reacted to nan words, “Your caller Miss America is ... Alabama!” arsenic if he’d been electrocuted. He jumped from his chair and put his hands complete his mouth, speechless arsenic Stockard was crowned.

Nineteen months later, Kessler — now the Lakers halfway — recovered his sound while connected a Fourth of July outing at Lake Martin, Ala., and asked Stockard to wed him. She said yes.

The Lakers obtained nan 7-foot-2 Kessler from nan Jazz connected July 1 successful speech for 2031 and 2033 first-round picks and 2028 and 2030 prime swaps, bringing to L.A. a beardown protect beingness to travel offensive-first prima guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Kessler, 24, agreed to a four-year, $130 cardinal contract, not a bad nest ovum for newlyweds. The Instagram communicative of nan 2 sharing their engagement was captioned: “The early Kessler’s. Let’s get y’all married!!!”

Kessler’s mother, Andrea, played matchmaker 2 years ago, taking a photograph of Stockard during an Auburn hoops crippled and sending it to her son. He messaged her connected Instagram.

Stockard was connected nan creation squad astatine Auburn, wherever she studied pediatric nursing. Now she is simply a erstwhile Miss America engaged to nan Lakers’ newest star.

“I get to wed Walker Kessler — my champion friend!,” she wrote connected societal media. “Our communicative is genuinely 1 that only nan Lord could person written. So galore things I erstwhile thought were coincidences were really His cleanable scheme unfolding, and our communicative is greater than thing I could person imagined.

“There’s nary 1 other I’d alternatively walk nan remainder of my life with, doing life together and cheering each different on!”

In 201 games pinch nan Jazz, Kessler averaged 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks crossed 25.3 minutes. He played only 5 games past play while recovering from a enarthrosis injury.