Kyle Kuzma is not lacking in confidence and Zubac either.
On dominating LeBron James on five-on-five:
KK: Playing against one of the greatest players of all time is only going to make you better.
On getting in the gym with Kobe and LeBron:
KK: It was great to be able to get in the gym with Kobe. He’s so particular with the details of the game — One thing that I kind of love about him, if you ask him something, he’s going to tell you A, B, C and D and how that affects each play. Same thing with LeBron, they’re great for a reason — they are very meticulous — they take film and the weight room very serious. It’s great to be around greatness.
On working on a hook shot:
KK: I had an old high school coach, and going into my junior year we worked out every single day and didn’t shoot a single three-pointer — he told me every day to go watch Magic and Kareem highlights to go and get that move — I guess it’s catching on now — it’s pretty cool.
On Improvement and looking in the mirror:
KK: Ever since we lost our last game, on April 11th, I’ve been thinking about ways to improve the team — last year was definitely hard losing, losing as much as we did – trying to fix that and try to improve on that.
Los Angeles Lakers
On reaching out to veterans and sending a text to Rondo watching tape, calling LeBron right away:
KK: I want to be a great player and I think the only way to do that is to one, work on your game and also try to be a sponge to players that done that at the highest level and won.
Ivica Zubac took the stage and came in smiling, correcting Mike Trudell on a quote he made.
“What’s up?” asked Zubac.
On playing back home on his Croatian national team:
IZ: Everybody was saying that I changed, like the way I looked on the court, how I move and everything, how I played. I think the change is going to be very good for me.
Motivation from Luke:
IZ: That’s how Luke was motivating me all summer, he was saying the center spot is going to be open and I’m going to have a shot at that spot. I’m sure I’m going to get a lot of chances — that’s what motivates me the most, and I am just going to get what’s mine!
On running the floor and defense:
IZ: I’m much better at running the floor, offensively and defensively. I feel much more explosive and aggressive and it’s much easier to get off the ground, so blocking shots is going much better for me.
"It was great to be able to get in the gym with Kobe. He's so particular with the details of the game. ... Same thing with LeBron. They're great for a reason." - @kylekuzmahttps://t.co/kiSLUX9raW
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 24, 2018