Lakers Head Coach Luke Walton: ‘We’re Going To Find A Way’ To Keep Kyle Kuzma On The Court
Kyle-kuzma-3
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest surprises for the Los Angeles Lakers so far this preseason has been the play of rookie Kyle Kuzma, as he leads the entire NBA in total points scored.

Kuzma was the 27th overall pick by the Lakers out of Utah, and while he was extremely impressive in the Las Vegas Summer League, it was unknown if he would be able to do the same against actual NBA players.

Kuzma has shown that it was no fluke to this point though, scoring at least 15 points in each of the team’s five games, averaging 19.2 points on 56.3 percent shooting.

He had another good game Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz, tying for the team lead in scoring with 18 points to go along with four rebounds knocking down five of his 14 shots.

After the game head coach Luke Walton talked about the rookie’s performance so far, saying that he has earned the right to continue to get more minutes, via Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times:

With Brandon Ingram likely starting at small forward and Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. battling for the starting power forward spot, it is hard to see Kuzma cracking the starting lineup to begin the season, but that does not mean he won’t play critical minutes right away for Walton.

Kuzma is the most versatile player on the Lakers on both ends of the floor, which becomes extremely crucial down the stretch of games when the Lakers like to switch everything on defense, so look for Kuzma to be on the floor to close out games if he continues to perform the way he has so far this preseason.

You May Also Like

NBA Odds: Los Angeles Lakers Remain Western Conference Favorites

The 2021-22 NBA Regular Season schedule was officially released by the league…

Kyle Kuzma Not Surprised By Setting Lakers Rookie Record For Most Points On Christmas, Reaching Multiple Milestones

While the Los Angeles Lakers suffered another tough loss to a playoff-caliber team, Kyle Kuzma’s 31 points were…

Malik Monk Opens Up About His Uncertain Future With Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers made a lot of headlines when they traded for superstar Russell Westbrook…

Magic Johnson ‘Couldn’t Be Happier’ Mike D’Antoni Resigned

Please enable Javascript to watch this video After weeks of uncertainty, Mike…