Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers recently talked about what he wants to do in order to make Team USA.
The Los Angeles Lakers made some big moves this offseason to improve the team, however, one of the most interesting players to keep an eye on is Kyle Kuzma.
Kuzma will be entering his third season with the Lakers and is a player poised for a big season. While Kuzma might have had a slight sophomore slump in some areas, he still played very well overall.
While everyone is very excited about the first part of the summer for the Lakers, Kuzma is working hard to make Team USA. As the most dominant country in basketball for the last 30 years in international play, Kuzma will be seeking to join some elite company.
With a lot of the star players in the NBA not playing for Team USA, it has given a young player like Kuzma a chance to prove what he can do. As Kuzma tries to make the team, he recently talked about what he’s going to try and do to make the team. Here’s what he said via Lakers.com with text from Silver Screen and Roll.
"“Defense and rebounding [are the] two biggest things. We’ve got a deep team. When you play with a team—an All-Star team like this with stars—everyone has to have a certain type of role and that’s one role I’ve been showing really well at since I’ve been here.”"
Seeing that Kuzma is focusing on defense and rebounding this summer is certainly great to hear. As a forward, Kuzma was lacking a bit in a the rebounding categories in his first two years. In his rookie season, Kuzma averaged 6.3 rebounds per game, and last season he averaged 5.5 rebounds per game.
As a power forward at times, the Lakers certainly could have used a bit more from Kuzma in that area. On the defensive end, Kuzma certainly can improve. Playing against some of the best players in the world, Kuzma will certainly have to bring it on that end of the court.
Since Kuzma is a stretch forward, he projects well to the international game. With the ability to play power forward and shoot three-pointers, Kuzma could be a valuable weapon for Team USA.
On Friday, Kuzma and Team USA will be in action in an exhibition game against Spain. As generally one of the best teams in the world, this will be a good matchup to see where the team is at.