Film Study: How Kyle Kuzma has improved his passing to become an elite role player

Lakers wing Kyle Kuzma has continued to grow and develop into a championship-caliber role player by committing himself to all phases of the game, most notably on the defensive end and with the ways he’s been tirelessly crashing the boards. That trend began last season, continued in the bubble, and is still going to this day.

But this season, I’ve noticed another aspect of his game that further exemplifies his ongoing growth into an invaluable complementary player: His continuing improvement as a passer. And perhaps more importantly, I’m not the only one who has noticed.

“He’s really led our team from the standpoint of where we’re going to get this thing to be a team-first approach where he’s trying to make reads and extra passes,” said Lakers head coach Frank Vogel after the team’s Friday win over the Kings. “He’s really making the effort to play team-first basketball.”

I detailed that effort at making the extra pass in the following video:

Dr. Rajpal Brar has a doctorate in physical therapy from Northern Arizona University, and runs his own sports medicine and performance business, 3CB Performance, in West LA and Valencia, CA. He also works at a hospital — giving him experience with patients in the immediate healthcare setting and neurological patients (post stroke, post brain injury) — and has been practicing for 1.5 years. Brar is additionally training at UCLA’s mindful awareness research center (MARC), and analyzes the Lakers from a medical and skills perspective for Silver Screen and Roll and on his own YouTube Channel.