Los Angeles Lakers: Is Kyle Kuzma becoming new face of the franchise?

Based on what we’ve seen during his sensational rookie season, it’s safe to suggest Kyle Kuzma has made a case for himself as the new face of the Los Angeles Lakers.

When the Los Angeles Lakers spent the No. 27 pick on Kyle Kuzma, I don’t think anyone had any idea how terrific the young forward would turn out to be. Most fans hadn’t even heard of him, so it’s understandable that his sudden success has taken the NBA as a whole by surprise.

In fact, even I was skeptical about the selection. Not only did I predict he wouldn’t live up to his first round billing, but I went as far as saying he’d be an end-of-the-bench player who was off the roster by the end of his rookie contract. Was I off the mark or what?

Well, as I sit here with my foot properly planted in my mouth, I’m starting to think that it could be Kuzma instead of Lonzo Ball who turns out to be the new face of the Lakers.

The kid has it all.

First and foremost is his scoring, which has been ridiculous for much of his rookie campaign. Not only is he shooting with insane efficiency, but he’s doing it in clutch situations against top competition. When the Lakers offense needs to get out of a rut or bridge a huge gap on the scoreboard, Kuzma always finds a way to turn it on.

Here are these stats from the Lakers’ three games between Dec. 18-22:

Seriously, his production during that three-game run was at historic levels, at least when it comes to Lakers rookies.

Let’s not overlook this — that’s some rare company to be in.

Then there was his Christmas Day performance, which was noteworthy in its own right.

It’s also worth noting that Kuzma has been a starter during this five-game stretch. His only other starts had come earlier in the season, when Larry Nance Jr. missed time due to a fractured hand.

Obviously putting him in the starting lineup has paid off in big ways for the Lake Show — he’s averaging 28.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from downtown during those five games.

But wait, there’s more!

Every month since entering the league, Kuzma’s rebounding numbers have improved. He got off to a solid start in October (5.0 per game), then increased that number to 6.7 in November before exploding in December with 8.0 rebounds per game. That production came to a head on Friday night, when he tied a career-high with 14 boards.

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Unsurprisingly, that came two nights after Kuzma set a career high with 38 points against the Houston Rockets. The crazy part is that, with that display of scoring, it gave the rookie a better career high than all Lakers players besides Brook Lopez, Luol Deng and Corey Brewer — who have a combined 32 years in the league.

That’s better than than career highs of Ball (29) and Brandon Ingram (30), both former No. 2 picks. Not too shabby for a late first round pick most folks didn’t expect much from.

All of this success and exponential growth brought a certain question to my mind. Could Kuzma realistically develop into the new face of this Lakers franchise? It may seem like a farfetched idea on the surface, but it’s starting to look like a real possibility.

Kuzma embodies everything that this Los Angeles team is striving for in 2017-18. He’s overflowing with confidence, he plays smart team basketball, and he never shies away from difficult shots. Some might even say he’s got the Mamba Mentality…

While I’m not suggesting Kuzma has Kobe Bryant levels of talent, he’s playing with the same swagger that made the Mamba one of the greatest to ever grace the hardwood. The key part is that he’s backing up said swagger with results, just like Kobe used to do.

It seems like the Lakers fanbase as a whole would love to see Ball, Ingram or an incoming free agent (like Paul George) emerge as the face of the franchise. However, it’s starting to look like Kuzma may be the guy to lead this team into a brighter future. If he continues on his current trajectory of improvement, you have to believe he’ll be pushing for All-Star status sooner rather than later.

Kuzma isn’t your everyday superstar, but he’s quickly proving deserving of the label. If his development continues at current pace, he’ll make quite the case as the new face of the Lakers.

Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: End of 2017 edition

And to think he only cost the team the No. 27 overall pick….