While the Los Angeles Lakers have brought in several waves of 2018 NBA Draft prospects, multiple players already on the roster have also been hard at work at the team’s UCLA Health Training Center. Chief among them has been Kyle Kuzma, which hardly comes as a surprise.
By now, Kuzma’s story is well-known. He was an unheralded selection with the 27th pick in the 2017 Draft, and went on to become one of the Lakers’ better players. Kuzma showed flashes of his talent during the Las Vegas Summer League and rode that momentum into the regular season.
After some time off, he was back in the gym for two-a-day workouts, complete with weight lifting and shooting and dribbling drills on the court. Recently, Kuzma was seen working with Lakers assistant coach Myles Simon on his post game.
The rookie forward is now overseas, representing the Lakers on an NBA community tour to celebrate the 2018 NBA Finals and further grow the sport in China. He’s joined by Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes, among others.
Despite being away from home, Kuzma nevertheless made certain to carry forward with his offseason workouts, which trainer, Clint Parks shared a clip of:
Y’all favorite Laker @kylekuzma out in China getting his work in. The kid is locked in and ready to help lead the Lakers to the playoffs. #Kuzmania #TMC pic.twitter.com/yU27tasqA3
— Clint Parks (@Brotherhood05) June 2, 2018
Kuzma is coming off a season in which he finished tied with a team-leading 16.1 points per game, while also averaging 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He became the Lakers’ 12th player to earn All-Rookie First Team honors.
Kuzma was previously named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in October and November. He went on to break D’Angelo Russell’s Lakers record for most 3-pointers made by a rookie in a season, and also became the franchise’s first rookie Jerry West (1960-61) to score at least 25 points in three straight games.
Kuzma additionally tied two of Magic Johnson’s franchise rookie records and finished fifth on the Lakers all-time rookie scoring list. Kuzma ranked second amongst all rookies in points per game, fifth in rebounding, seventh in 3-point percentage (.366) and ninth in field goal percentage (.450).
He’s among the members of the young core who are confident the Lakers can reach the playoffs next season, with or without the signing of a marquee free agent.
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