The Los Angeles Lakers won a thriller on Monday night, beating the Denver Nuggets nearly at the buzzer on a Kyle Kuzma 3-pointer. Kuzma, never shy for confidence, followed up a career-defining shot with a career-defining quote:
"I think Jesus could be in front of me and I'd probably still shoot."
— Kyle Kuzma, on Bol Bol contesting his game-winner
— Bill Oram (@billoram) August 11, 2020
That is an all-time brilliant response.
Kuzma has struggled a lot this season adjusting to playing behind both LeBron James and Anthony Davis and mostly playing off the bench. Since the Lakers have entered in the bubble, however, Kuzma has been a man possessed and he had arguably his best game of the season on Monday, scoring 25 points to go with six rebounds, three assists, two steals. Kuzma made 11 of 16 shots and three of five 3-pointers on the night so it’s hard to argue that Jesus (who was allegedly a very short man) would be able to stop that shot from going in.
Kuzma continued after the game by talking about why he never lost confidence in himself despite his struggles:
More Kuzma: "I'm starting on most teams in this league and everyone knows it. It just so happens I'm playing behind the two best players in the NBA."
— Bill Oram (@billoram) August 11, 2020
And finally, to go with the legendary quote about Jesus, here’s Kuz explaining that he called his own shot:
* @kylekuzma said he told rookie @Thortontucker that he was “calling game” in the huddle before the final play in which he caught the ball from @AntDavis23 after slipping a screen and buried the open 3, a play they’d worked on in practice.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) August 11, 2020
And in case you missed it, here’s the beautiful play drawn up by Frank Vogel and Kuzma’s monster shot:
Bubble Kuz for the walk-off.
Peep LeBron in the back too. pic.twitter.com/lvXOrBEd3c
— Lakers Outsiders (@LakersOutsiders) August 11, 2020