By MARK REY MONTEJO
Kyle Kuzma has been pivotal for the Washington Wizards run last season despite coming short for a playoff spot and with his exceptional showing he might be the next face of the rebuilding franchise.
Kuzma averaged 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 70 games – his outputs in the scoring and passing department were his best in his career so far in the NBA.
One of the things he thanked for were his learning from the late basketball great Kobe Bryant – the man behind the “Mamba Mentality” which became prominent not only in sports but also in other fields.
“I think I’m really blessed and fortunate when I came to San Diego to build a real relationship with him and asked him about a lot of different things whether it was basketball, life, business, relationship, what to do and not to do,” said Kuzma.
“I think coming into the NBA, 21 or 22 years old, and having somebody like that as a mentor,” he added.
For Kuzma, living up to his words is something he is grateful for in terms in his passion in the game.
“I mean, you just have to live it every day, you know. I think I do that, you know, because at the end of the day, I’ve been in the league for eight years and I love it just as if I was a kid,” Kuzma said in his press conference at Dusit Thani Manila in Makati City Tuesday morning, Aug. 26.
“But, you know, when I have a basketball in my hands, when I’m training, I feel like a kid again. And I think that’s what always keeps me going and pushes me to kind of strive for that mentality,” he added.
That mentality is carried by Kuzma who is eyeing to someday bring the winning culture in the D.C. after finishing with 14th place in the Eastern Conference with 15 wins against 67 losses.
”So I think, you know, this year is all about building that and helping others get better,” Kuzma continued. “So yeah, that’s super important to me. You know, trying to just build the winning culture. Last year was the first year of our rebuild.”
“This year too, we’re a young team but we have a lot of talent and, you know, good character guys. We had a mini camp a couple weeks ago, you know, with the whole team, the new guys. So it’ll be great,” he added.
Four years later, Kuzma along with future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James had a chance to give the 17th banner for the Lakers when they won over the Miami Heat, 4-2, in six games of the NBA Finals.
