Los Angeles Lakers center Walker Kessler got engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Abbie Stockard, during the holiday break, just days after signing a four-year, $130 million contract with the team.
Photos posted to Stockard's Instagram Story showed off the diamond ring Kessler placed on her finger. A caption on the photo read, "The future Kessler's. Let's get y'all married!!!"
Stockard shared the news with her own followers, writing, "The greatest surprise!! We're getting married!!," alongside a gallery of photos of herself and her fiancé.
She wrote that she gets to marry Kessler, her best friend, calling their story one that only the Lord could have written. She said so many things she once thought were coincidences were really His perfect plan unfolding, and that there's no one else she'd rather spend the rest of her life with, doing life together and cheering each other on. She added that she's excited for all the big things God has in store for them and the adventure ahead, calling it the best Fourth of July ever.
Miss Alabama to Miss America
Stockard is a beauty pageant contestant who was crowned Miss Alabama 2024 before going on to win Miss America 2025. A Birmingham, Alabama native, she attended Auburn University, where she met Kessler while he was a sophomore on the Auburn Tigers basketball team. She studied as a nursing major at Auburn and plans to specialize in pediatric medicine. Stockard won the Miss Alabama pageant in June 2024, becoming the fourth woman from Alabama to be crowned Miss America.
Kessler said dating Miss America was not on his bingo card.
Kessler's $130 million Lakers deal
Days before the engagement, Kessler signed his four-year, $130 million contract with the Lakers. He is set to form a new "Big Three" in Los Angeles alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Kessler spent three seasons in the NBA with the Utah Jazz after a post-draft trade. He was originally selected by the Memphis Grizzlies, then flipped to the Minnesota Timberwolves before being packaged in a trade to Utah weeks later for Rudy Gobert.
Since then, Kessler has averaged 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in his NBA career, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero.
Kessler's contract expired in the offseason, and in a market where centers were at a premium, he earned a major payday. The Lakers are going through a transition after LeBron James announced his departure for a new team yet to be determined this offseason.