When the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis, they gave up nearly all of their young assets save for Kyle Kuzma. It was a big deal at the time as it appeared as if the Lakers thought highly enough of Kuzma that they envisioned him as a long-term player worth keeping around as they contended for championships.
Kyle Kuzma did help the Lakers win the 2020 title in the bubble, but he ended up being part of the trade for Russell Westbrook in the 2021 off-season. During his last couple of seasons with the Lakers, Kuzma played off the bench. But the Washington Wizards have made Kuzma a full-time starter and his performances have some Lakers fans dreaming about ‘what if?'
That sentiment only intensified on Friday as Kuzma threw down a monster slam over the Chicago Bulls Patrick Williams. Kuzma would finish the game with 26 points and six rebounds while shooting 50 percent (4-8) from three-point range in a Wizards win.
Lakers fans took to Twitter during and after the game to express their feelings on Kuzma's breakout with the Wizards.
Crazy how much the Lakers need Kuz 😂
— ︎ (@midWEStmz) October 22, 2022
I’ll never forgive all the Laker fans who trashed on Kuz while he was on the Lakers. Dude is BALLING this year
— Christian Gonzalez (@Christian_Gee17) October 22, 2022
Lakers fans miss you Kuz
— 💫Yxu’re Welcxme💫 (@YxurWeIxme21) October 22, 2022
Kuzma prolly would be snapping with the lakers rn 😭
— HEAVY (@Nile_young1) October 22, 2022
Kuzma, come back to the Lakers 😭
— Kuzma Lakudo 🇧🇷 (25-30) (@KuzmaLakudo) October 22, 2022
But not all fans pined for Kuzma to come back to the Lakers. Some brought up the possibility that Kuzma needed a change of scenery to reach this level of play and that he might not have been able to show off this ability if he were still a Laker.
The Kuz disrespect was crazy. Lakers held him back
— WOLDE (@WheresWolde) October 22, 2022
Whether or not Kuzma would have been able to showcase his game like this with the Lakers is unclear. But what is clear is that he's become one of the most important players on the Wizards. In their opening day game against the Indiana Pacers, Kuzma dropped 22 points and 13 rebounds. Behind his latest performance, the Wizards have started the season 2-0 while the Lakers are 0-2. If he keeps having games like this, expect more Lakers fans to opine about the one that got away.
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