Kyle Kuzma eyeing continued improvement defensively

Heading into his second season in the league, Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma has plenty of expectations laid before him to take that next leap in his development.

There is an opportunity in front of him to step into a prominent role offensively next to LeBron James as one of the primary scorers. However, Kuzma has voiced on Tuesday afternoon that he is always looking to make improvements defensively, according to Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints.

Kyle Kuzma said today he sends clips to Luke Walton on what he wants to improve upon defensively. His eagerness and desire to improve in all aspects of his game has been impressive going all the way back to the begin of his rookie campaign. #Lakers

— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) October 16, 2018

Kuzma has quickly become one of the Lakers’ young promising core players that have been largely fueled by his scoring prowess on the court. He has shown the ability to be able to generate his offense while being one of the consistent factors on that end of the floor.

However, he had stepped up his commitment to his craft this offseason with his individual workouts both on the floor and weight room. This has included a strong push to improve defensively, which has often not been the case for young players in the league as they are often times looking to make their mark in the league first as scorers rather than how they can impact the game defensively.

Kuzma has proven to be a capable scorer, but if he’s able to take a step up in his game defensively it could add another element to the team. Ultimately, this will be something that he will have to show on the floor if he can become a stout individual defender that can hold his own against some of the top players in the league.

He certainly has the drive to become a rising star player in the league in what could be his breakout year this upcoming campaign. The table is set for him to make that leap forward his development toward becoming a huge factor on the floor for what could become a special team in Los Angeles.