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Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons why Kyle Kuzma will never be an all-star

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 22: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts to a play during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at Staples Center on February 22, 2021 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. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 22: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts to a play during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at Staples Center on February 22, 2021 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. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

1. Kyle Kuzma is way too inefficient on offense

Kyle Kuzma is actually coming off of the most efficient offensive year of his career and it is because he took a step back as a role player with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, he obviously is not happy in this role and wants to go back to what he was doing pre-contention.

First of all, he is going to have to be on a really bad basketball team for him to be able to do what he was doing in LA before. There is a very short list of teams where Kuzma would be one of the best scorers on the team and they are all planted in the lottery.

Even if he does go back to those days and averages 20 points per game, and maybe even flirts with 25 points per game, history tells us that he will be extremely inefficient in doing so. There is a difference between getting 25 points for a contender that helps a team win and scoring 25 points for a lottery team because you’re jacking up an incredible amount of shots per game.

Let’s go back to his “best” season: the 2018-19 season. Kuzma averaged 18.7 points, which seems great, but he did so shooting 45.6% from the field and 30.3% from beyond the arc. That simply does not cut it in 2021.

In fact, he finished that season with an effective field goal percentage of 51.5%. That ranked him 108th out of 178 players who took at least 500 shots that season. That puts him in the 40th percentile, which is below average.

Again, last season was much better, but it was in a reduced role where he was only taking good looks and not forcing things like he was before. He is not this incredible shotmaker that can create his own looks like he thinks he is. The bigger the output, the less efficient he will be.

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