In Case Anybody Forgot, Kyle Kuzma Reminded Everyone That He's the Steal of the 2017 NBA Draft

Going into the game, the Lakers were 10-18; the Rockets were 25-4 – the best in the West.  The Lakers were on a three-game skid; the Rockets were running a 14-game winning streak.  The game was on the Rockets’ home floor.  James Harden racked up 51 points and 9 assists.  This must be a Rocket win, right?

Nope.  The Lakers earned a surprising win, thanks to a phenomenal career performance from rookie Kyle Kuzma – 38 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, and one block.  He made all nine of his shots (including 6-of-6 from deep) in the first half, and finished with an efficient 12-of-17 from the field, 7-of-10 from the three-point land.  This looks to be a glimpse of greatness to come.  I guess he was probably tremendously inspired after Kobe’s jersey retirement ceremony.

He reliably makes open treys set for him.

He also has no problem with shooting contested three-pointers.

And he's not just good from the outside.  He has the athleticism to finish plays at the rim as well.

He has great post moves, too.  This play has flashes of Kobe in it.

And as icing on top of the cake: when asked in the interview afterwards if he ever expected to have scoring outbursts like this as a rookie, he replied with no hesitation, "Oh, yeah."  That's pretty Kobe-ish.  That's Mamba Mentality right there.

Kuzma is the reason why the trading of D’Angelo Russell to the Nets was a huge win for the Lakers, for part of the deal was his draft rights.  As 27^th overall pick, he has turned out to be the hands-down steal of the 2017 NBA draft.

Unlike his more famous, one-and-done batchmates (like teammate Lonzo Ball), he has opted to stay in college for three years.  This was a good thing for him, as he developed an NBA-ready skill set through the experience.  As a result, despite being a rookie, he has emerged as a major contributor for the Lakers.  In fact, he has arguably been the Lakers’ best player for some time now – he leads the team in scoring (17.4 per game) and is third in rebounding (6.6 per game).  And it’s not that far-fetched to think that he’s only going to get better.

That’s why it was so frustrating that Coach Walton would choose to bench him in favor of Larry Nance, Jr.  Sure, there’s some advantage with starting Nance, Jr. at four (defense, rebounding).  But comparing the benefits they bring, starting Kuzma definitely has an edge (consistent offensive power).  In addition, this might not mean much, but the Lakers are 5-6 (45% win percentage) when he’s starting, and 6-11 (35% win percentage) when he’s not.

But with Walton inserting him back to the starting five in this game, he has made an emphatic statement.  He’s the real deal.  He deserves a permanent starting spot.  He’s going to be as much of a star as Lonzo and Ingram.

The future Lakers Big Three.

It seems like the Lakers’ young core is finally coming together.  And as a Laker fan, I’m salivating from the thought of it.