Wrap Up
To sum up this debate, it comes down to what you value in a player. Stats can only take a team so far in the season. We saw the evidence of that last season when Russell Westbrook won the MVP award solely based on his triple-double statistical achievement.
It was largely made possible by his teammates aiding him toward the end of the season in getting rebounds. In addition to the “triple double” being time and time again proven as an arbitrary numbers category that really doesn’t say much about a player, team, or season.
The Thunder ended up only winning one game against the Houston Rockets in the playoffs, being bounced in the first round. What did those stats really mean? The Thunder, boasting the MVP of the league, was dominated by a talented, team-oriented Houston Rockets club led by a new, more sacrificing, James Harden. They don’t mean anything. Re-do anyone?
The league doesn’t want to make the same mistake again, or should I say the media, by awarding a player purely based off of statistics. However, if they do, Kuzma measures up in some relevant categories.
Instead, if the end of season awards voters take into account all the intangibles that make Kuzma the best rookie in the league, and the most impressive, the debate between Simmons and Kuzma is relevant and warranted.
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Let’s not kid ourselves. Someone is going to have to come along and take the award from Ben Simmons, who is convincingly making his argument as the most talented rookie. With performances like this week’s fourth quarter domination of the Boston Celtics, Kyle Kuzma might be doing exactly that.