The Top 10 Games of Kyle Kuzma’s NBA Career, Thus Far
For seven seasons and counting, Kyle Kuzma has put together a sensational sizzle reel under the NBA’s bright lights. Rim-rattling dunks, booming triples, and crunch-time baskets are aplenty in this young man’s highlight clips.
In honor of Kuz’s visit to the Philippines, we compiled a list of his most incredible outings in the NBA. Between his gold-laden time in Tinseltown and his current stint with the Washington Wizards, Kuzma has proven to be a productive asset that fans can’t—and certainly won’t—stop watching.
10. Clutch Kuz Enters the Chat
On the night of Aug. 11, 2020—right in the heart of the NBA’s Florida bubble—the Los Angeles Lakers found themselves in a 121-121 deadlock with the Denver Nuggets. With 4.5 seconds to go, coach Frank Vogel drew up a play in which Kuzma—who’d scored 23 points up to that point—would receive a handoff from Anthony Davis after setting a slip screen on LeBron James’ defender.
The Lakers five ran the play to perfection, though the closeout on Kuzma’s shot came from a 7-foot-2 youngster by the name of Bol Bol. Despite the rookie’s freakishly long wingspan, Kuz was a thousand percent confident that he’d make the shot—and he did. “I think Jesus could be in front of me and I’ll probably still shoot,” Kuzma said after the 124-121 Lakers victory.
9. Kuzma Lifts Shorthanded Wizards to a W
How about a game where our protagonist had to overcome the absence of three starters? With Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, and Daniel Gafford out for the night, Kuz had his work cut out for him on Jan. 11, 2023. Unfazed by the tough challenge posed by the Chicago Bulls, who led at halftime by 13, Kuz put his head down and went to work.
The Wizards turned things around in the 3rd quarter, which saw them outscore the Bulls 41-21 on the strength of Monte Morris’ scoring outburst. Heading into the final frame, Kuz had a total of 15 points next to his name, but he had two more bullets in the chamber. He fired the last of these with the game tied at 97 and six seconds left on the clock. Moments later, Kuzma and his teammates were celebrating their hard-earned, one-possession victory.
8. The First Triple Double
Throughout Kuz’s career, one indicator of his growth as an NBA player has been the emergence of his all-around game. He’s been a walking bucket since his rookie year, sure, but Kuzma has steadily improved in multiple aspects, becoming more and more versatile as the years go by.
On February 10, 2022, Kuz reached a career milestone by logging his first career triple-double against the Brooklyn Nets. Finishing with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists, Kuzma led the Wizards to a 113-112 win at the Capital One Arena. (Less than a year later, he got his second triple-double in a 118-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Maybe this sort of thing will start to happen more frequently, yes?)
7. Kuz, the Rebounding Machine
After the Wizards played the Orlando Magic on January 9, 2022, The Washington Post ran a story that featured Rui Hachimura in the headline. With all due respect to Mr. Hachimura, the real headliner of that game was Kuz, who grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds in the Wizards’ 102-100 victory. For good measure, Kuzma led the team with 27 points while his running mate Bradley Beal had 20.
The cherry on top: Kuz sealed the victory by partially blocking a put-back attempt by Chuma Okeke right before the buzzer sounded. Thanks to Clutch Kuz’s impeccable timing, the game ended in regulation with the Wizards on top by a bucket.
6. Coming in Hot Against the Hornets
As the Wizards turned the calendar to 2022, Kuz brought with him some leftovers in the form of a three-game streak with 20-plus points. On the third day of the new year, Kuz wasn’t about to let his fire be extinguished by the visiting Charlotte Hornets. Which was just as well, since the Wizards had lost a bunch of players to health and safety protocols. (Remember those?)
The winter season was in full swing, but Kuz brought the heat with a scorching 36 points on a 13-for-26 clip and a 64.8 true shooting percentage. He hit three big treys down the stretch, including the go-ahead basket with 1:10 remaining. “I’m just being really aggressive,” Kuzma said after the game. “I just put my head down and try to get to the rim, take an open three if it’s there.”
5. Scoring Blitz in Oklahoma City
Throughout the course of the Lakers’ 2019-2020 title campaign, each key piece of the rotation got their chance to shine. For Kuz, one particularly memorable night was January 11, 2020. With no LeBron James and Anthony Davis by his side, Kuzma scored 36 in a 125-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
His numbers on that evening included a 15-for-24 shooting clip, 66.7% shooting from beyond the arc, and 70.8% effective field goal percentage. This was Kuzma’s best scoring night of the season, and it gave him a strong case to get significant minutes the rest of the way.
4. Stepping Up Against Dallas
By now, we’ve seen a running theme in Kuz’s career: When his team is shorthanded and they need someone to step up, he rises to the occasion. Kuzma came to the rescue once again on November 10, 2022 in a game that coach Wes Unseld Jr. called “a character win, a gutsy win.” Without the services of Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis, the Wizards pulled off a 113-105 victory, spearheaded by Kuzma’s 36 points.
Barely a month into the season, Kuzma was already flirting with a triple-double as he also tallied 11 rebounds and 6 assists. His two long-distance connections at the start of the 4th quarter helped the Wizards build a comfortable cushion against the Mavericks, who could not sustain their fiery production in the first half.
3. The One Where Fans Said, “Who Is This Guy?”
The 2017-2018 Houston Rockets were an absolute juggernaut on offense—the peak form of analytics basketball, if you will. Led by James Harden, who went on to win MVP at the end of that season, the Rockets rode the wave of a 14-game winning streak in late December. That’s when they came up against a young Lakers team which, in stark contrast, didn’t quite have a go-to guy and was well below .500.
None of these extremes mattered to first-year player Kyle Kuzma, who turned heads around the league when he scored 38 points to help the Lakers snap the Rockets’ streak. Despite a lofty 51 points from Harden, the Lakers weathered the storm and secured the 122-116 victory at the Toyota Center. “I’ve got the same mentality every time I step on the court,” the rookie said in his post-game interview. “I try to play my hardest and just be locked in.”
2. The 40-Piece in Washington
Of all the games on this list, this is the only one where Kuz’s team came up on the losing end. Be that as it may—c’mon, the guy scored 40, for crying out loud. On January 13, 2023, Kuz got an eye-popping 40 points in a 112-108 Wizards loss to the New York Knicks.
After a tightly contested first half, the Knicks nearly put the game away in the 4th quarter when they went on a 14-0 run. But the Wizards came storming back, going so far as to cut the lead to three on a Kuzma layup with 27 seconds left. In the end, it was the steady hands of Jalen Brunson that prevailed. From one clutch player to another, Kuz made sure to give Brunson his flowers.
1. The 40-Piece in Los Angeles
What’s better than scoring 40+ in an NBA game? Lighting up the scoreboard and winning said game. On January 9, 2019, Kuz erupted for 41 points to lead the Lakers to a 113-100 victory in the venue then known as the Staples Center.
To date, this is Kuzma’s best scoring output in his NBA career. Perhaps more significantly, it came against the Detroit Pistons, a team that’s near and dear to his heart. “That’s the team I grew up watching,” said the Flint, Michigan native after the game. With a hint of irony, he added, “My fondest memories is them beating the Lakers.”
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