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The Los Angeles Lakers have seen a few potential stars emerge during the 2017-18 NBA season. The team knew they likely had something special in Lonzo Ball but were pleasantly surprised by how polished fellow rookie Kyle Kuzma has turned out to be.
Kuzma went from a late first-round draft pick that no one knew about to arguably one of the top two or three rookies in the league this season. The Utah product has far exceeded expectations in his first season in Los Angeles with a potentially bright future ahead in purple and gold.
After practice on Thursday, head coach Luke Walton was asked about Kuzma and how he's become one of the team's most reliable players in the fourth quarter when the game is on the line.
“He's got that mentality,” Walton said of Kuzma. “He wants to win. I was talking to our coaches the other day and it's great because we've had a lot of tough stretches throughout this year…Kuz is one of those guys you can see it in his face. Even on this road trip, we had lost the first two. He came into that Memphis game and it was all business. He really did a job in that fourth quarter. That was a game that wasn't looking good for us.
“He's got that alpha male personality and he truly believes in what his skill set is. When it comes the time to win, he has all the confidence in the world in himself. So I think that's why he's able to make big plays down the stretch of games.”
With the Lakers being a young squad still trying to figure out specific roles for players and how they'll play for years to come, Kuzma has made quite the impression in terms of being that dependable scorer late in game.
Although Kuzma has made a strong to be this team's closer moving forward, Walton isn't ready to give him that role. The second-year head coach wants it to be a group effort to close games rather than depending on one player to take over.
“We expect him to perform well in the fourth, but I don't want to put that role on anyone,” Walton said. “With the group we have right now, coming more organically throughout the game. What Zo did in San Antonio at the end of that game. Brandon is having a game. Whoever it is. We don't have that Kobe Bryant closer right now, so I don't want to put that role on one person and just start running everything for him at the end of the game. I want it to come out of the flow of how we're playing.”
As this Lakers young core continues to evolve, it'll be interesting to see if Walton's mindset changes as these players mature and take their games to the next level. Fortunately for Walton, he's in an ideal situation with all of these talented young players setting the team up to be incredibly tough to stop in the future with so many dependable options that can be counted on down the stretch.
