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Kyle Kuzma Says He’s A Better Passer Than Lonzo Ball

Shining behind the overwhelming media attention of Los Angeles Lakers No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma is an unlikely hero.

When the Lakers agreed to trade 21-year-old point guard D’Angelo Russell (as well as Timofey Mozgov) to Brooklyn to free up a guard slot on the roster just prior to the 2017 NBA Draft, they thought Brook Lopez was the only valuable piece coming to California. Well, Kyle Kuzma, the No. 27 overall pick also acquired from Brooklyn, showed off his true potential so far and made a name for himself in front of Los Angeles Lakers officials as well as their fans.

Nobody saw this coming. The buzz around the trade between Los Angeles and Brooklyn was the Lakers getting rid of soon-to-be-star D’Angelo Russell and dumping the four-year, $64 million contract of Timofey Mozgov; not who was going to be the No. 27 overall pick.

Well, that pick became Kyle Kuzma, a 6-foot-9 forward out of Utah with a hunger for success. Through his first eight games, Kuzma has averaged 15.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting 54.3% from the field. But even though Kuzma only averages 1.5 assists, he thinks that his passing game is superior to Lonzo Ball’s.

“I’m probably a better passer than him. He definitely has the extra gear, but for him, I think he needs to play that way every time. I always tell him that he needs to be aggressive and needs to play with that edge every time because he plays cool sometimes. But when he’s very aggressive and he’s locked in, gets it going in the pace, we’re pretty tough to play against.”