The Los Angeles Lakers picked up their third win of the NBA’s restart in dramatic fashion.
Kyle Kuzma drilled a 3-pointer with less than a second left to lift the Lakers over the Denver Nuggets 124-121.
After Kuzma hit the game-winner, superstar LeBron James had some hefty praise for the 25-year-old forward.
Lakers' LeBron James on Kyle Kuzma: "In order for us to win a championship, he has to be our third best player." – That's a telling statement.
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) August 11, 2020
The Lakers expected Kuzma to take the next step as the third banana to James and Anthony Davis when they acquired the latter in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Kuzma had struggled this season, mostly in a bench role, averaging just 12.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game heading into Monday’s contest. All those numbers are career-lows for Kuzma.
However, James was blunt when talking about Kuzma’s importance to the team.
LeBron on Kuzma: "We cannot win a championship if Kuz doesn't play well."
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) August 11, 2020
Besides hitting the game-winning shot, Kuzma was fantastic on Monday, shooting 11-for-16 from the field and scoring 25 points.
He finished the game with the second-highest plus/minus (plus-16) of any Lakers player.
James is right. If the Lakers want to win, Kuzma has to play well. Monday night’s performance is just a small sample of what the third-year forward can do to help bring a championship back to Los Angeles.
