The 2019-20 season was a special one for the Los Angeles Lakers, as 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 lots of 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 as world champs.
Through 27 games, the team was 21-6 and just half a game shy of the best record in the NBA, when injuries started to pile up. Davis suffered a calf strain the next game that kept him out for several weeks, then 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.
