NBA: Last Of Lakers Young Core Confident About Rising To The Occasion

Kyle Kuzma may perhaps be the lone young superstar that the franchise took in the past years and most feel that there is a reason behind it all. Most see him as a promising rising star, and the 24-year-old forward sounded confident that he can be that third superstar the purple and gold is looking for.

After acquiring Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, and Danny Green, the belief was that the Lakers were looking for a third superstar to join the mix. At the rate things are going, it looks like the purple and gold have held off that search for now and plan to put to good use the bunch they have right now. But most have given their take on what lies ahead for Kuzma who may find himself playing behind the shadows of these big-name recruits.

Regardless of what pundits say, Kuzma is confident he can fit in perfectly to that third superstar role. He singled out how he put in hard work and the progress he has made so far in his NBA career. And to continue his development, the 27th overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft knows what he has to improve on for his rise to continue.

“Last year I didn’t shoot the ball well, and I still averaged almost 20. If I can shoot the ball well and keep developing the facets of my game defensively, I don’t see why I can’t [be that third star],” Kuzma said in a report from ESPN.

One part of his game Kuzma knows he has to work on is his three-point shot. With most big men now trying to sharpen their skills from the outside, the 6-foot-9 forward knows he has to improve his three-point shooting clip moving forward. Slam Online pointed out how his percentage from rainbow territory dipped from 36.6-percent to 30.3-percent last season, something he will need to work on since he is bound to be fed the spheroid when opposing teams tighten up their defense on Davis and LeBron James.

“I’ve always played off the ball. It is going to be a little bit easier, going to have a lot of open shots. It is my job to trust my summer workouts and what I’ve done. Just breathe, focus and knock those shots down, because I’m going to be open,” Kuzma said.