Getty Kyle Kuzma of the 2019 USA Men's National Team attends a practice session at the 2019 USA Basketball Men's National Team World Cup minicamp.
The only Lakers representative at USA Basketball training camp for the FIBA World Cup, Kyle Kuzma has shown some noticeable improvements in his game so far. Perhaps Kuzma’s biggest adjustment so far has been with regards to his jump shot – which seems to be much quicker and more easily repeatable than before.
While his development as an outside shooter will help make him one of the games best offensive weapons, his athleticism and ability to play above the rim have helped him tremendously in establishing himself as one of the game’s most promising talents. Adept at finding cutting lanes to the rim and offering up his playmakers an easy scoring target, Kuzma showed off his athletic skillset by throwing down a monster dunk during one of the team shootarounds.
Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma Throws Down Nasty Dunk at USA Basketball Camp
Off the wall into the windmill dunk… We see you, @kylekuzma👌 (via @NBA)
Going off the wall and into a massive windmill, the only knock on the dunk was Kuzma grazing the front rim ever so slightly with the ball. Kuzma’s leaping ability is well documented and he has thrown down a number of huge dunks before – yet he seemed to get extra fired up over this one as he pumped his fist repeatedly afterward.
Beyond the dunk, Kuzma seems to be enjoying himself at USA Basketball camp and seems to be doing a good job of absorbing any and all information he can possibly get from the elite coaching staff.
Kuzma himself said he was excited to have a chance to study under Popovich and even if he doesn’t wind up making the final roster cut, he could benefit greatly from the experience.
Kyle Kuzma’s USA Basketball Roster Spot Could Hinge on Scrimmage
With other young players like De’Aaron Fox and Jayson Tatum standing out from the crowd early on at USA Basketball camp, Kyle Kuzma may be playing for his spot in the scrimmage tonight. With players fighting for a shot to land one of the coveted roster spots, USA Basketball scrimmages can get fairly heated at times and offer an extremely high level of competition.
It is doubtful that USA Basketball brings a roster loaded with third-year players, so expect the game tonight to serve as a proving ground for the young guns to see who might be worthy of tagging along to the World Cup in China. Fox and Tatum may have the upper hand at this point but Kuzma could turn seemingly the tables with a strong performance – especially on the defensive end.
Known as a defensive wizard, arguably the biggest thing Kuzma needs to show Popovich to earn a spot on the team is that he has dramatically improved on the defensive end. Running drills in the offseason is one thing but it should be interesting to see how Kuzma responds to defending in a game scenario. Kuzma has put in some serious work to prepare his body to withstand the burden of playing down low while maintaining his explosiveness to guard the perimeter.