With the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League now a thing of the past, the offseason has hit somewhat of a dry spell. While veterans prepare for the arrival of training camp, Los Angeles Lakers rookies Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma were occupied earlier this week with the NBA rookie photo shoot.
While having a fun time filming on the set, Ball took a more serious note defending teammate Brandon Ingram over an image 2K released. With NBA 2K releasing their annual ratings, players around the NBA are being unveiled with each day. Ball, whose 80 overall rating matched Markelle Fultz, headlined his rookie class.
Since then, a few other Lakers players have been curious what their ratings would be, questioning 2K on Twitter. The most recent Laker to receive an answer was Kuzma, a fellow rookie. After tweeting at the official 2K account, Kuzma went to Twitter to unveil his first official player rating:
My #NBA2K rating out! I'm ready to get on the sticks!!! Thanks bros! @Ronnie2K @LD2K pic.twitter.com/SaQBR8K7iL
— kuz (@kylekuzma) August 11, 2017
Kuzma put a lot of people on notice with his performance at the Las Vegas Summer League. He won Championship Game MVP honors and looks to be another potential draft steal for the Lakers. His 2K rating is a sign of that as it is a little higher than most late first-rounders receive.
In seven games played, Kuzma averaged 21.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. His confidence and clutch abilities were on display throughout the Summer League, helping the Lakers defeat the Portland Trail Blazers in the championship match.
After being drafted 27th overall, Kuzma has certainly exceeded the expectations the front office and fanbase had. Shortly after the conclusion of Summer League, Kuzma elected to sign a shoe contract with Nike.
With a confident jump shot and ability to guard multiple positions, Kuzma will enter training camp with a chance to compete at both forward positions.