- Austin Reaves’ semi-worrisome comments about his future with Lakers
- Austin Reaves says he had to buy LeBron James Xbox controller as one of his rookie duties on Lakers
- Tristan Thompson says he surprised LeBron James during Lakers workout: ‘I haven’t seen this since Cleveland’
- Draymond Green says the Lakers are a ‘serious threat’ in the Western Conference
- Report: Lakers downgrade D’Angelo Russell’s status for Friday’s matchup vs. Thunder
- Kendrick Perkins rips ‘borderline senior citizen’ Chris Paul for letting Austin Reaves drop 25 points on him
- Anthony Davis issues confident statement on Lakers playoff hopes: ‘You put anybody against us, I like our chances’
- Anthony Davis declares that he and LeBron James have ‘one of the best relationships’ among duos in the NBA
- Former teammate of Kobe and LeBron says Kobe was ‘like Mike’ while LeBron was more ‘happy-go-lucky’
- Report: LeBron James has resumed on-court activity for Lakers
LeBron James heaps massive praise on Kyle Kuzma’s growth this season
- Updated: February 14, 2021
In his fourth NBA season, Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma is evolving into a terrific all-around player.
After L.A. defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 115-105 on Friday, LeBron James gave Kuzma some love for his evolution and growth.
LeBron, on Kuz's progress this season.
"He's grown into himself. He's grown into his role. He knows exactly what he needs to do out on the floor… I think him signing the contract before the season started settled him down as well."
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) February 13, 2021
In his first couple of seasons, Kuzma quickly became known as a capable scorer who had the skill set of a player much more experienced than him.
However, last season he struggled mightily with his efficiency as his touches and opportunities went significantly down due to the addition of Anthony Davis.
Going from a featured scorer to a role player, the Flint, Mich. native has improved his 3-point shooting, defense and rebounding this season, and he has made a greater effort to run the floor in transition and move without the ball.
Against the Grizzlies, he had 20 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to key the Lakers’ attack, as they overcame an early 20-point deficit to dominate the second half.
Kuzma is part of an L.A. bench that includes Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker and Montrezl Harrell. This unit has been key in increasing the squad’s energy and intensity when it comes into a contest.