Los Angeles Lakers: Does Kyle Kuzma have a legitimate shot at Rookie of the Year
By Jack Obrien
We make a case for Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma to take home the Rookie of the Year award.
Does Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma have a chance to win the Rookie of the Year award? In a word… no. But let’s explore this one a little more.
After Tuesday night’s impressive performance against the Boston Celtics, singlehandedly closing out a close game against the best team in the Eastern Conference and the third best team in the entire NBA, the argument for a KUUUUUUZ Rookie of the Year has been reignited.
Kyle scored 17 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter. After Luke Walton brought him in around the ten-minute mark of the fourth quarter, he immediately began scoring quickly and effectively.
It is most crucial to note his first two shots after being brought back into the game. During his first offensive possession after being subbed in, as soon as the ball swung around the perimeter, he fired off a quick, uncontested three without thinking about it.
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This is important, as it’s rare for a rookie to have the sort of confidence to take such big shots without any hesitation. He fired off his second made 3-pointer with the same confidence and speed.
The argument against him, Ben Simmons, doesn’t shoot 3-pointers, so the debate gets tricky. The only other player in the ROY conversation is Donovan Mitchell. While Mitchell has had some impressive scoring nights early on in this year’s season, he hasn’t shown the same mature, end of game mentality that Kuzma has shown consistently throughout the season.
Simmons certainly wins the statistical argument. Averaging 16 points and seven rebounds per game in addition to seven assists. How do those numbers actually compare with a player like Kuzma?