Kyle Kuzma shared his perspective on his development as a player since joining the Los Angeles Lakers as a rookie. The 25-year-old forward attributed his success to hard work and love for the game of basketball.
“I just love the game of basketball, plain and simple,” Kuzma said after the win against the Houston Rockets. “My freshman year in college I didn’t play at all, really. Played 5-7 minutes a game on a Sweet 16 team, could’ve transferred but for I just stuck with it and just continued to build and build and build.
“Eventually got to the NBA. Had a lot of adversity since being here, role changes, big dogs coming here and my role diminish more and more. But I’m a strong person. I’m from Flint, Michigan, I’ve been through a lot. Nothing really is too big for me.
“I love the grind I think there’s this misconception about who I am as a person. People don’t think I love basketball and how I dress and how I dye my hair and everything else. But if you really watch basketball and you understand where I was my rookie and how I am now, I turned myself into a complete all-round player.
“That’s from the grind, that’s from studying and that’s from wanting to be as great as I can be. I won’t change my journey for anything. I think it’s been very valuable to me. I think it’s been very valuable to take a seat and watch Bron and AD play. I think that has helped me tremendously in my growth. I’m looking to continue to keep getting better and better. That’s all it’s about.”
