Los Angeles Lakers: Recapping the early seasons of the rookies

Kyle Kuzma

The most impressive rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers, and maybe the whole league, is easily Kyle Kuzma. The 27th pick from the University of Utah leads the Lakers and all rookies with 18.1 points per game, along with 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Kuzna is efficient as well, connecting on 49.9 percent of all field goals, including an impressive 41.6 percent on 3-point attempts.

What makes Kuzma’s early season boom legit is how complete his offensive game already looks. Like fellow rookie Josh Hart, Kuzma doesn’t hesitate or waste movement with the ball in his hands, except Kuz has a quick first step and the ability to finish strong at the rim.

The rookie foward is the team’s best long-distance shooter as well, letting it fly at any moment. This ability to attack drives, pull up from mid-range and shoot from deep are making him a growing problem for teams around the league,

Kuzma has alternated between starting and coming off the bench, with neither impacting his production at this point. He is, however, making his case for an even larger role since Brook Lopez went out with injury. Kuzma scored a career-high 38 points in Lopez’s first missed game, and is distributing the ball better as well, averaging over three assists per game in the small sample size.

Like most young players, Kuzma’s defense shows promise in spurts and struggles for long stretches. He has the physical traits to become a strong defender, but we will see how much it improves throughout the season.

Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: End of 2017 edition

What isn’t typical of young players is how easy Kuzma is scoring in the league this early. It’s rare to find a rookie with this much confidence, and the Lakers should be ecstatic they got a top-three Rookie of the Year candidate at pick No. 27.