It has been a long time since a rookie Laker entered the league with as polished a skill set as Kyle Kuzma.
The 22-year-old ranked second among first-year players in scoring (16.1) and 3-pointers (2.1), while averaging 6.3 rebounds and a 36.6 percent clip from deep.
But Kuzma’s actions stood out even more than his numbers.
Already armed with a transition Eurostep, a silky baseline fadeaway and much more, Kuzma finished in a three-way tie for the Lakers’ scoring leader (with Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram).
But his signature shot was his sweeping skyhook, which he often broke out while on the run. Kuzma hit 56.6 percent on hook shots this year — third-best among all players.
He also finished third in points per possession in isolation (1.12; minimum 50 attempts), trailing only All-Stars James Harden (1.22) and Kyle Lowry (1.15).
Kuzma — who finished the season dealing with two separate ankle sprains — also showed some positional flexibility, spending most of the year at power forward before shifting down to small forward when injuries made it necessary for most of the post-All-Star schedule.
By the Numbers
4: Thirty-point games recorded by Kuzma, who dropped a season-high 38 points with seven 3-pointers in a win over Houston on Dec. 20.
26: Players drafted ahead of Kuzma last June.
159: Threes made by Kuzma, who tied Rudy Fernandez for the fourth-most by a rookie in NBA history.
What’s Next
Kuzma exceeded everyone’s expectations for his rookie season, even his own.
But the Lakers’ front office warned him of being complacent, as he said in his exit interview that they told him they “don’t want me to be average, they want me to be a great player, as I want to be.”
As for this offseason, he plans on refining his unique skill set by working on areas typically reserved for guards, including shooting off screens and ball handling out of pick-and-rolls.
On the topic of attracting max-contract free agents this summer, Kuzma said that he would welcome such reinforcements, but that the team, and specifically the young core, isn’t depending on them.
“We want to be those great players, max level guys,” he said.
Shot Chart