Ever since joining the Los Angeles Lakers two years ago, forward Kyle Kuzma has not exactly been bashful, on or off the court.
Recently, he mentioned that he has a pretty big goal for this upcoming season.
“I want to get better, I want to get better. That’s the biggest thing,” Kuzma said. “I worked hard the past two years and I think I have a lot of capabilities. For me, I want to be an All-Star. I’d probably say that’s one of my goals — something I gotta work at and I don’t see why not.”
In some ways, the Flint, Mich. native had a very strong sophomore season. He improved his accuracy on 2-point shots from 51.1 percent to 55.3 percent and his free-throw shooting percentage from 70.7 percent to 75.2 percent. His scoring average increased from 16.1 points to 18.7 points a game, while bumping his assists from 1.8 to 2.5 a game.
However, the big negative for Kuzma in the 2018-19 season was his 3-point shooting. After making a very solid 36.6 percent of his treys in his rookie season, he only hit 30.3 percent of them last season.
Even if Kuzma shoots well from beyond the arc and continues to improve his defense and playmaking, it will be tough for him to get an All-Star nod, given the great depth of talent that exists in the Western Conference.
However, if the Lakers have one of the best records in the league by midseason, that could possibly get Kuzma enough votes over his competitors for a reserve spot in the NBA’s midseason classic.
