Always measuring himself against the rest of his draft class, the second-year forward takes the honor after his 35-point effort leads the U. S. team to a 161-144 victory over the World squad in a ga…
CHARLOTTE, N. C. — Maybe it was all about the money.
A relatively modest prize of $25,000 (by NBA standards) goes to the winning team of the Rising Stars Game. That definitely influenced Kyle Kuzma, who said his Team USA broke at least one of their huddles on Friday night by shouting, in unison, “one, two, three, BONUS.”
He mentioned the check again after winning the MVP award, adding to a legacy as rich as Kevin Durant (2009) and Allen Iverson (1997) and as dubious as Daniel Gibson (2008). But in the 40 minutes leading up to that moment on the dais, in which he scored a game-high 35 points, it was evident that the second-year Lakers forward had been shooting for something a little more intangible than the extra cash.
“Last year, I didn’t really play that hard,” he said. “This year, I just came out: One, I wanted to get some conditioning. And two, why not MVP? You’re in the game. So might as well just try.”
In a game that for most was a total lark, Kuzma certainly was trying to win MVP.
He hoisted 27 shots, more than any other player. He ran the floor, hunting for outlet passes, and finished alley-oops with a flush. To have watched the 6-foot-9 wing’s game for the Lakers is to know he’s perfectly suited for what the Rising Stars exhibition is: light on defense and a gunner’s paradise.
The only other Laker who has ever won Rising Stars MVP is Eddie Jones (1995). No other Laker has scored more points in the game: Kuzma passed Kobe Bryant’s previous Lakers best of 31 points late in the fourth quarter.
