Kyle Kuzma Began Blowout Loss to Lakers With Half-Court Shot on Very First Possession

Kyle Kuzma during a previous game against the Dallas Mavericks | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards lost their 16th straight game on Thursday as they were blown out at home 134–96 by the Los Angeles Lakers. The signs were there early that this was not going to be the Wizards' night as the team settled for a shot from half-court on their very first possession of the game.

Already trailing 30 seconds into the game, rookie Kyshawn George tried to kick it out to Kyle Kuzma, but Rui Hachimura tipped a pass and it went into the backcourt. Kuzma beat Hachimura to the ball to retain possession, but didn't exactly exhibit a sense of urgency as he casually dribbled the ball back towards the front court and shot a runner from the half-court line with two seconds left on the shot clock.

Kuzma gotta be trolling

Bro shot it from half court for no reason 😭 pic.twitter.com/OFFJOMsCPp

— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) January 31, 2025

Not to be outdone, Jordan Poole missed an even longer shot at the end of the quarter as time expired. This has to be the first time that a team has both started and ended a quarter with shots from that far from the basket.

Not that it mattered. Even if they had made both of those shots the Wizards still would have lost by 30. Washington is now 6-41 on the season. No other team is still in single-digits in the win column.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kyle Kuzma Began Blowout Loss to Lakers With Half-Court Shot on Very First Possession.