4. Kyle Kuzma, Los Angeles Lakers
Last rank: 4th (↔)
The Los Angeles Lakers got an underwhelming performance from second-year wingman Brandon Ingram in the 2018 Rising Stars Challenge, but rookie Kyle Kuzma delivered in front of the home fans.
Kuzma put up 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting for Team USA despite the loss. He also recorded seven rebounds and two assists — a solid outing off the bench for the young forward.
On the Lakers’ front, Kuzma is struggling from behind the 3-point arc in February (28.2 percent), but he’s still averaging 11.9 points per game across the same span. Lonzo Ball can’t come back soon enough as Kuzma seems to play a whole lot better with him in the rotation. He’s averaging 12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists per game since Ball has been sidelined. He’s also recorded just one double-double as well.
Fourteen of those games have come with Kuzma starting off the bench, so maybe inserting him into the starting rotation could change the outcome. The Lakers are currently 23-34 and have lost their last three games.