"He was gonna clothesline my light skin a** if I did it again" - Kyle Kuzma shares his 'Welcome to the NBA' moment courtesy of DeMarcus Cousins
Kyle Kuzma recently had time on his hands, so he went on a Q&A session on X (formerly Twitter). One of his followers got curious about what his "Welcome to the NBA" moment was, and the Washington Wizards forward shared a story that would send chills down the spine of any faint-hearted individual.
After outwitting DeMarcus Cousins, the former Los Angeles Lakers pro said he got a frightening response from the burly center.
Boogie got his revenge
It's unclear when the game took place, although Kuzma first met the former star big man on the court in his third NBA game ever when the Lakers faced off versus the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2017-18 campaign.
The game also saw the University of Utah product emerge as one of the most potent scorers of his draft class, as he poured in 20 points off the bench against a frontcourt that featured Cousins and Anthony Davis. Unfortunately for the then-rookie, his squad lost 119-112. As a silver lining, that contest helped establish Kuzma's potential to become a starter in the league.
Footage of the play he mentioned on his social media post is tough to find. However, there is plenty of replay of Cousins' poster dunk and staredown on Kuz in the 2018-19 season. So, it's safe to say that Boogie got even and more.
It's all good now between the two
Of course, no beef ever really brewed between the veterans. They even got to be on the same side when Cousins joined the Lakers in the 2019 offseason. Sadly, the four-time All-Star tore an ACL before the regular season began and didn't appear in a single game in that campaign.
Los Angeles waived him near the trade deadline to open a roster spot before the team made a successful championship run. But before finding himself out of the Lakers, Boogie offered high praises for Kuzma during an appearance on "All The Smoke" podcast, saying his former teammate's "talent is through the roof, and he just gotta learn the game."
Cousins' statement turned out to be somewhat accurate as the 28-year-old has continued to improve his game, as evidenced by his career highs this season in average points (23.6), assists (4.6), and field-goal percentage (47.4%). However, Kuz is playing for a team that is near the bottom of the standings. As such, his production has largely gone under the radar.
