Los Angeles Lakers Player Spotlight: F Kyle Kuzma

Kyle Kuzma was the one member of the young core that survived the Anthony Davis trade and is an impactful player on the Los Angeles Lakers.

The next player that will be covered in the “Los Angeles Lakers Player Spotlight” series is Kyle Kuzma.

Biography

Kyle Kuzma attended three years at the University of Utah. However, he interestingly only played two seasons with the basketball team. As a result of Kuzma signing with Utah too late, they were forced to redshirt him his freshman season, meaning that Kuzma could not even touch the floor during his debut year.

His sophomore year has a struggle for Kuzma as well, he did not start a single game. However, in his last two years with Utah, Kuzma only missed out on starting a single game that he participated in.

Along with this, he put together an impressive stat line his last year, leading to him to forego his last year of eligibility and going to the 2017 NBA draft. In his last season, he averaged 16.4 points and 9.3 rebounds.

The Los Angeles Lakers acquired the 27th overall pick from the Nets and Brook Lopez in exchange for Timofey Mozgov and D’Angelo Russell and selected Kuzma. Kuzma has spent his entire NBA career on the Lakers.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The strengths of Kyle Kuzma have translated well and carried over to his NBA career. Over the past three years, Kuzma has been primarily a scorer for the Lakers. This is the part of his game that he has gone as the record saying he has and continues to work on the most.

Along with this, he is a solid rebounder both on the offensive and defensive end. Defensively, he is a very inconsistent player.

Some nights he can guard great opposing players with ease, however, others he is an absolute liability on defense. His size gives him a great advantage defensively with Kyle standing at 6’8″ and 220lbs.

What He Brings to the Los Angeles Lakers

Going into the season, Laker fans and front office alike were hoping that Kuzma would be the one to improve his game and fill the third-star role for the Lakers. He has objectively fallen short of this goal and is an awkward fit for the team.

He is someone who does not have an elite three-point shot and needs the ball in his hands to be effective offensively. Also, as previously covered he has nights that he is an absolute liability on defense.

As a result of this, Kuzma has been reduced to a bench role and was even shopped around by the Lakers around the trade deadline.

However, when he is playing to his fullest potential, he is the third star that the Lakers hoped he would be and can possibly be the difference between a second or third round loss in the playoffs and the Lakers bringing home a championship.