NBA
#27 – Kyle Kuzma – Los Angeles Lakers
Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.
All posts by Alan DraperUpdated9 hours ago on April 25, 2024
With the No. 27 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers selected power forward Kyle Kuzma from the University of Utah.
After a strong showing during the NBA Combine, Kuzma shot up draft boards around the league. Over his three years with Utah, Kuzma improved in every successive campaign, culminating in an average of 16.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists over a staggering 30.8 minutes per game in 2016-17.
Of course, Kuzma was the final remaining piece from Tuesday’s trade that was centered around Brook Lopez and D’Angelo Russell. Kuzma will join point guard Lonzo Ball as part of the Lakers’ new draft class as the front office moves the franchise into the next era.
Currently, Kuzma will have beat out Larry Nance Jr. and Julius Randle for playing time at power forward in 2017-18, but that number could rise quickly if the Lakers make a trade for superstar Paul George in the near future. The talented scorer is now the third player from Utah currently in the NBA, joining Delon Wright (2015) and Jakob Poeltl (2016), both of whom are on Toronto Raptors.
