Kyle Kuzma on playing with LeBron and AD: ‘I think that was one of the most important times of my life’

Washington Wizards star forward Kyle Kuzma ostensibly learned a whole lot during his time playing alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Everything — how to be a pro,” Kuzma said about what he learned from Davis and James. “How to motivate people, how to work, how to be a businessman, so many things. And I think that was one of the most important times of my life — takin’ a backseat and really watching and learning. And I think everything I’ve done then, I’m doin’ now, and trying to pay it forward and give it to people, too.”

Kuzma spent each of his first four seasons in the NBA with the storied Lakers franchise, from the 2017-18 campaign through the 2020-21 season. However, he only played with both Davis and James in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

In Kuzma’s first season playing with James and Davis, the Lakers went on to win the title in the year 2020, and he was debatably Los Angeles’ third scoring option in the 2020 NBA Playoffs. He averaged the fourth-most points per game on the team (10.0) during the Lakers’ championship run behind only James, Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Plus, he averaged just 0.7 points per game fewer than Caldwell-Pope during that span.

However, the Lakers didn’t experience the same amount of collective success during the 2020-21 season, which marked Kuzma’s second and final season playing with Davis and James. Los Angeles lost to the Phoenix Suns in six games in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

Plus, ever since Kuzma left the Lakers, he hasn’t even gotten close to winning another NBA title. He hasn’t suited up in a single playoff game during his stint with the Wizards, and Washington was one of the worst teams in the league during the 2023-24 regular season. After all, the Wizards won just 15 of their 82 games and finished the season on a six-game losing streak.

The Wizards may not have enjoyed a lot of collective success last season, but Kuzma is fresh off maybe the best year of his NBA career from an individual perspective. He posted career-highs in points (22.2) and assists (4.2) per contest across 70 games played with Washington.

Perhaps Kuzma will be able to use all that he learned from his time with two of the best players in the NBA in James and Davis to lead the Wizards to more wins in the 2024-25 regular season, which will kick off in October.