Kyle Kuzma was not a highly sought-after prospect coming into the 2017 NBA draft. While he had a fine three-year career at Utah and projected to have the tools perhaps to be a fine 3-and-D wing someday, not many expected him to be drafted in the first round, much less be the star he’s slowly blossoming into for the Los Angeles Lakers.
But despite the lack of buzz surrounding his draft stock, Kuzma kept the faith that he’d be a first-rounder, and it eventually came true.
“Everyone said I would be a second-round pick or undrafted guy, that’s all I heard coming to the draft, but I had a higher faith,” Kuzma told Shams Charania The Vertical. “I knew I was way better than that, better than how people pegged me. After I killed draft workouts and the combine, I knew I would go in the first round.
While just about every player has a much higher opinion of his own abilities than anyone else, Kuzma’s could be that much higher. Lakers head coach Luke Walton remarked during the preseason that Kuzma was one of the most confident rookies he’d ever seen in his time in the NBA.
After that self-belief turned into reality as Kuzma did become a first-round pick, perhaps it's also been a significant factor as to how he has been so good so quickly as a rookie. Whatever the reason for his success, Kuzma has certainly been playing like a first-round talent, but one that should've been selected much higher than 27th.
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