The last name of iconic Lakers centers is placed above their number on a wall at the team’s practice facility. Centers who have dominated the NBA on their way to the Hall of Fame.

Each day at practice, new Lakers center Walker Kessler has cast his eyes toward the wall, marveling at those names and numbers, unable to look away from a group of big men who left an indelible mark on the sport of basketball.

“Yup, they got some bigs up there, some great bigs,” Kessler said.

He chuckled.

There is Gasol (16), Mikan (99), Abdul-Jabbar (33), Chamberlain (13) and O’Neal (34).

“You know, obviously, there’s a certain legacy that comes with being a Laker big,” said Kessler, who wears No. 14. “But honestly, it’s just what an opportunity this is to play for a franchise that has had just historic bigs. I think that Lakers fans, when their bigs are at that level, they fall in love with them. So, what an opportunity.”

Starting with George Mikan to Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal to Pau Gasol, all of them have won championships playing for the Lakers and all of them have had their jerseys retired by the franchise.

Kessler is the next center in line, the next big man who will try to live up to those lofty standards.

Surely, Kessler was asked, he has to feel some inherent pressure to follow in the footsteps of that majestic group, starting Wednesday night when the Lakers open the regular season at Crypto.com Arena against the Golden State Warriors.

“I think it depends on how you look at it,” Kessler said. “If you do look at it as an approach of, ‘Oh my gosh, I got to perform this certain way.’ But, I think it’s twofold. With pressure or with opportunity comes somewhat a level of pressure. But to focus on the opportunity and being grateful for the ability to be in that position, you know?

“If I talked to my 8-year-old self telling me, ‘Hey, you’re going to be the starting Lakers center,’ it puts it in perspective. So what an opportunity. I’m just so grateful to God. I mean, it’s fantastic.”

Pressure is something Kessler feels equipped to handle, even while acknowledging that the stakes are high and that all the noise about the high price the team paid to acquire him only increased the volume.

The Lakers got Kessler from the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade deal in which L.A. sent two first-round draft picks and two first-round draft swaps for him. Then the Lakers gave Kessler a four-year, $130-million deal.

“I think I try to put pressure on myself because at the end of the day, it is a sport and I play my best version of myself when I go out there and compete every night and just play with joy,” Kessler said. “I think pressure kind of steals that. So for me, again, it’s just focusing on the opportunity. The Lakers’ fan base is obviously a massive global presence, so to have a chance to have that backing is pretty exciting.”

After meeting Kessler and having several conversations with him, Lakers coach JJ Redick has no worries about that pressure.

Besides, Redick is part of Kessler’s support system.

“Well, I think he wants to embrace that. I think that’s why he wanted to be a Laker,” Redick said. “And why he wanted to be here was because of the fact that there are stakes every single night when you wear a Lakers uniform. We’ve had a number of conversations.… We had a long conversation the other day about it. I think the awareness is there, how you navigate that early on and how you navigate that in your first year. There’s no way to predict that because you’ve never dealt with it before.

“But he’s got great support around him. … I’m here to help him. We’re all here to support him. All these guys that haven’t gone through it, there’s nothing like it. And I think they all want to embrace it. They all have a chip on their shoulder about it. They want to make Lakers fans proud, and I know they will.”

Luka Doncic wanted Kessler on his team.

Redick wanted Kessler on his team.

Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka wanted Kessler on his team.

At 7-foot-2, active and mobile, they all felt he was the perfect fit to play alongside Doncic. Kessler is the lob threat, rim-runner, screen-setter and defender Doncic has thrived with in the past when leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals.

“It’s extremely humbling,” Kessler said. “Again, just so grateful to have a franchise that’s this historic to show that they want you and show that they value you. And then having Luka, arguably the greatest player in the league right now, saying that he wants me specifically. … Yeah, just very, very grateful.”

An injured shoulder limited Kessler to only five games last season with the Jazz.

And, he’s only started in 125 out of the 201 games he has played in over his first four seasons in the NBA.

But over that time, Kessler displayed his skill set, averaging 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.2 assists a game.

Many around the NBA think Doncic can unleash even more out of Kessler, and that’s why the superstar guard wanted him on the Lakers.

“I’m very excited,” Doncic said. “Obviously [I was] kind of involved, not signing him but there was a lot of communication with Rob and JJ about him, so I’m very excited to just share the floor with him.”

Kessler said his love for the game of basketball grew so much after he was forced to miss 77 games last season recovering from having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

He’s ready to show Lakers fans his worth.

“I’m fully healthy. I feel fantastic body-wise,” Kessler said. “The only thing, like I was saying before, is kind of the rust and kind of getting back into the game feel in a sense. The NBA, you’re playing against the best players in the world. You’re not going to your local YMCA.”

Basketball runs in his family.

His dad Chad, brother, Houston and uncle, Alec, all played basketball at Georgia. His dad was drafted by the Clippers and his uncle played for the Miami Heat.

Somehow, Walker ended up going to Auburn. Nevertheless, his family is always around for advice.

“My dad and brother are some of my biggest supporters. They’re incredible,” Kessler said. “They didn’t put pressure on me to go one way or the other way. My dad even texts me after every game. Yeah, before the game, after the game, my brother, we talk all the time. So they’re fantastic.”

When asked what he likes to do when he’s just chilling, Kessler laughed.

“Getting to the real stuff now,” he said, smiling.

One thing that stood out was that Kessler said he likes to play board games, particularly Catan.

Is he as competitive playing Catan as he is when he plays basketball?

“What do you think? I’m a psychopath,” Kessler said, laughing. “So are my buddies, though. It’s a good time. We sometimes get a little heated, but it’s good though. It’s all in fun. So, yeah, Lakers fans should know that I’m competitive. Very competitive.”