Kyle Kuzma received plenty of criticism in the past couple of seasons after failing to live up to the expectations. The Los Angeles Lakers forward was expected to become the third star on the team, but that never happened.
Now he’s getting many bad comments from fans who don’t think he’s cut out for the job. After two tumultuous seasons with the purple and gold, where he even feuded with teammates, Kuz remains confident that he can be a valuable piece for the Lakers or any other team in the league.
In fact, the forward compares himself to one of the best young players in the league, Jayson Tatum. According to NBA insider Eric Pincus, that’s how Kuz perceives himself.
“I think that Kyle Kuzma perceives himself as someone like Jayson Tatum,” said Pincus on a recent episode of the Lakerside Chats podcast. “I think that’s how he views himself. And that’s great. You should view yourself as one of the best young players in the league.”
As Pincus said, it’s great that Kuzma is so confident in his talents. Still, he’s very far away from the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 draft in terms of playing or delivering. The Boston Celtics forward has become the leader of the team and is expected to become one of the faces of the league.
As for Kuzma, plenty of fans watch him as a role player who unsuccessfully tries to be more than that. These two careers have been different, and nothing points out that they will change soon.
Kyle posted 12.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, shooting 44.3 percent from the field 36.1 percent from beyond the arc. On the other hand, Tatum averaged 26.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.3 points per outing, shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from deep.
