At the 2018 NBA Awards, Kyle Kuzma represented the Los Angeles Lakers after being nominated for the ‘Best Style’ award.
Along with Kuzma, the nominees featured James Harden of the Houston Rockets, LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Nick Young of the Golden State Warriors.
With fans voting on NBA.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, Westbrook won for the second consecutive season.
Despite losing the award, the 22-year-old quickly established himself during the 2017-18 NBA season. Projected to go in the second round or even undrafted, president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka selected Kuzma with the No. 27 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft following a trade with the Brooklyn Nets.
After carrying the Lakers to the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League championship, Kuzma received the Most Valuable Player award where he averaged 21.9 points (51.4 percent shooting from the field and 48.0 percent shooting from the three-point line) and 6.4 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per game.
Kuzma’s strong play carried into the preseason and regular season where he received 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.
Appearing in 77 games including 37 starts, he averaged 16.1 points (45.0 percent shooting from the field and 36.6 percent shooting from the three-point line) and 6.3 rebounds in 31.2 minutes per game.
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