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Kyle Kuzma Appears to Troll LeBron James, Lakers with Cryptic Social Media Post

Mike Chiari

Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma seemed to take a shot at the Los Angeles Lakers on social media early Friday morning.

After the Lakers' 112-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets to go down 3-0 in their first-round playoff series, Kuzma made the following post on X:

Kuzma, 28, spent his first four NBA seasons with the Lakers, averaging 15.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 276 games with the franchise.

L.A. signed LeBron James in free agency prior to Kuzma's second season, and while Kuzma was highly productive as a starter alongside James, averaging 18.7 points per game that year, he was primarily relegated to a bench role during the second half of his Lakers tenure.

That proved to be the best combination for the Lakers, as they won a championship in 2020 with Kuzma coming off the bench and both LeBron and Anthony Davis leading the way on the starting unit.

Kuzma played one more season for the Lakers beyond that before getting traded to the Wizards as part of a five-team deal that netted Los Angeles veteran guard Russell Westbrook in 2021.

Westbrook never fit in well alongside James and Davis before getting moved less than two seasons into his Lakers tenure, while Kuzma has gone on to enjoy the best individual seasons of his career in Washington, including averaging a career-high 22.2 points per game last season.

Unfortunately for Kuzma, the Wizards have struggled mightily as a team since his arrival, missing the playoffs in each of the past three seasons and going just 15-67 this season.

As for the Lakers, they have not won another title since Kuzma left, although they did reach the Western Conference Finals last season.

En route to winning the NBA championship, the Nuggets swept the Lakers out of the Western Conference Finals last season, and they are on the verge of sweeping L.A. out of the first round this season, and Kuzma seems to be taking notice.

   

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