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Los Angeles Lakers: Kyle Kuzma shares who he emulates

By Kenneth Teape

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 16: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the USA team poses for a portrait prior to the Mountain Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Game during All-Star Friday Night as part of 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend at the STAPLES Center on February 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael J. LeBrecht II/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 16: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the USA team poses for a portrait prior to the Mountain Dew Kickstart Rising Stars Game during All-Star Friday Night as part of 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend at the STAPLES Center on February 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael J. LeBrecht II/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma emulates multiple NBA players to form his game.

Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma has come out of nowhere this season. He has taken the league by storm despite being selected No. 27 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Kuzma has been excellent for the Lakers. Despite hitting a bit of a wall in recent games, he is still second on the team with 15.7 points per game. For a majority of the season, Kuzma has been the team’s leading scorer. He is also averaging 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 rebounds.

Coming out of Utah, NBA pundits weren’t very high on Kuzma. They questioned whether his skill set would translate to the next level. While he was productive in college, analysts worried he would not be able to develop into a stretch-4. He has proven all of them wrong.

Kuzma is knocking down a respectable 35.8 percent from deep this season. He is making 45 percent of his shots overall. Those are both strong numbers for anyone, let alone a rookie.

Kuzma is having one of the better rookie seasons the NBA has ever seen. A popular thing for fans to do is to pick player comparisons. For example, a lot of people believe Kuzma’s teammate, Brandon Ingram, is similar to Kevin Durant.

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However, when discussing Kuzma, there aren’t many comparisons mentioned. That could be because Kuzma emulates a number of different players.

In a recent exchange with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, Kuzma revealed who he emulates his game after, and multiple players made the cut.

"“I try to look at everybody. I watch a lot of stuff from Kobe. I look at Kevin Durant a lot. I look at LaMarcus Aldridge’s post-ups. It’s a mixture of players [that I model my game after]. I wouldn’t say I’m similar to one particular person. I have multiple skills and I try to study everybody.”"

Studying multiple players is always a good thing for young players to do. There is always something new to learn, so limiting yourself to watching the tape of only one player would be doing a disservice to yourself.

Emulating someone such as Kobe Bryant or Kevin Durant is not easy. Taking different aspects of their games and combining them with others to fit what is comfortable for him is the best course of action for Kuzma.

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Creating his own path is definitely the way to go. Kuzma is on a great path right now given his performance during his rookie season. If he continues working hard and studying as he has been, he will undoubtedly continue improving.

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