For young forward Kyle Kuzma, being a Laker was no forgettable experience. As he has said many times before, his time in Los Angeles is where he grew and developed into the player he is today.
Still, that doesn’t mean that it didn’t come without some especially difficult challenges.
As he told NBA insider Chase Huges, he was in a dark place after leaving the Lakers because of all the things people were saying about him at the time.
Kyle Kuzma says he was in a “dark place” leaving the Lakers because of the narratives surrounding his exit: “How peope perceived me… it kind of hurt me a little bit.”
Kyle Kuzma says he was in a "dark place" leaving the Lakers because of the narratives surrounding his exit: "How peope perceived me… it kind of hurt me a little bit."
— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) September 23, 2022
Kyle Kuzma Remains Positive About His Lakers Tenure
Kuzma had plenty of ups and downs in L.A., but he still looks back on his time there as a positive experience overall. Not only did he win a championship with the franchise, but he also learned how to play from some of the best players in the world.
According to what he told Draymond Green, his Lakers experience was nothing short of extraordinary.
“The average fan, they look at the sh*t on paper,” Kuzma told Draymond Green. “Paper don’t tell the whole story. Chemistry and fit are the most important things to win a championship, right? You can put four All-Stars on a team, and on paper, it looks like, ‘Oh sh*t, they’re gonna win a championship.’ But how do you know? Is that third or fourth All-Star that you bring in, is he willing to now act like a fourth option? I play basketball to win and win games and whatever role I got thrust with, one, Imma do it. Because, one, I’m on a LeBron James team. Let’s keep it 100 right now. Like, you’re on that team, and you see that man and him being a professional. Like, you’re going to fall in line, because it’s a certain excellence standard, and you don’t want to let somebody down that care so much about winning. Like, you want to be part of that too.”
Naturally, people are going to talk. There’s nothing Kuzma or any other player can do about the rumors and the noise. It just comes with the territory of being an NBA baller.
And while Kuz struggled with the hate at first, he found a way to overcome the court of public opinion and push through to find the best version of himself. Whether you love him or hate him, Kuzma certainly deserves credit for doing that.
