The 2019-20 season was a special one for the Los Angeles Lakers. They won their first NBA championship in a decade, thanks to the dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis and a dominant defense.
They did so after overcoming significant adversity, including missing the playoffs in each of the six prior seasons, the death of the legendary Kobe Bryant and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following season, despite the “bubble tax” of an extremely short offseason, L.A. was favored by many to repeat.
Through 27 games, the team was 21-6 and just half a game shy of the best record in the NBA, but injuries started to pile up. Davis suffered a calf strain the next game that kept him out for several weeks. James sustained a severely sprained ankle that sidelined him for about two months.
In the first round of the playoffs versus the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers took a 2-1 series lead, but when Davis went down again, they lost three in a row, sending them home early.
Kyle Kuzma believes they would’ve gone all the way again if not for their injuries.
We would of repeat if we were healthy
— kuz (@kylekuzma) November 27, 2022
The Lakers responded to the disappointment of that early playoff exit by trading Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and a first-round draft pick for Russell Westbrook. Needless to say, fitting in with the Lakers has been a rough adjustment for the 2017 league MVP.
That rough adjustment has left many fans of the Purple and Gold pining for Kuzma, who is averaging a career-high 20.3 points a game this year for the Washington Wizards.
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