Los Angeles Lakers: Kyle Kuzma through the years
Kyle Kuzma’s Rookie Season
Kyle Kuzma was selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets and was subsequently traded shortly after to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the trade that sent D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to Brooklyn.
Kuzma played for the University of Utah under head coach Larry Krystkowiak for three season as he redshirted his freshman year due to signing late with the Utes. In his junior season, Kuzma averaged 16.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game and was seen as a versatile power forward who could run the floor, play with pace had an improving 3-point shot.
Coming into the NBA Draft he was seen as a mid to high second round pick but, was able to use the NBA Draft Combine to impress scouts and GM’s around the league to vastly improve his draft stock.
After being taken in the first round, he joined his fellow draft class teammate Lonzo Ball in the Las Vegas Summer League where, for the most part, the spotlight was on Ball, who was the No.2 overall pick in the draft.
Despite a stellar showing from Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma started to gain momentum with his play as well. He scored nine points in the opener vs the Clippers but dominated the rest of the way as he went on to average 21.9 points per game on his way to leading the Lakers to the Summer League championship with a 30 point performance and Championship game MVP honors to follow.
Kuzma continued his stellar play into the preseason where he again showed his versatility and shooting prowess averaging 17.3 points, and four rebounds per game while shooting 51 percent from the field.
Things continued to bode well for Kuzma as he went into the season on a roll notching his first 20 point game of his career in just his third game of the season against the against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 22, 2017.
Kuzma would go on to win rookie of the month for the months of October as well as November, becoming the sixth non-lottery player to accomplish the feat in his first month in the NBA.
In his first 20 games, Kuzma would go on to surpass double-digit scoring all but twice in that span including his first 30 point game against the Phoenix Suns on November 17, 2017.
Kuzma was quickly becoming a fan favorite amongst Laker Nation. With the growing back and forth among fans pertaining to the play of Lonzo Ball, Kuzma quickly started to make a name for himself and establish himself among the Lakers top young players.
The highlight of Kuzma’s rookie season came however in a road matchup against the Houston Rockets on December 20, 2017.
The Rockets came into this game as one of the league hottest teams, posting a 14-game winning streak going into their matchup against the purple and gold.
Kyle Kuzma erupted in the first half knocking down all six of his 3-point shots and finished the game with a then career-high 38 points, leading the Lakers to a streak-breaking win over the Houston Rockets.
Throughout the season, Kuzma would definitely have his struggles. At times he would struggle to knock down perimeter shots on a consistent basis and would often time exert little to no energy on the defensive end of the floor.
These were things that were expected of an NBA rookie, and while Kuzma did not have the best rookie season, he would go on to put on the best Lakers rookie season arguably since Magic Johnson.
Kuzma even earned his first invite to the NBA Rising Stars game along with fellow teammates Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, although Lonzo Ball was not able to play due to an injury.
Kyle Kuzma ended the year earning NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.
Kyle Kuzma finished the season tied for the team lead in scoring with 16.1 points per game along with dishing out 1.8 assists per game and grabbing 6.3 rebounds per game.