LeBron James (23) and Kyle Kuzma (0) against the Phoenix Suns during Game 2 of the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Phoenix Suns Arena.? Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Kuzma changes his GOAT pick after Lakers traded him

Originally posted on Game 7 | By Charles Kruger | Last updated 8/3/21

Kyle Kuzma was traded by the Los Angeles Lakers this week as part of a deal that will land Russell Westbrook in L.A.

Now that Kuzma is moving on, his three-year partnership with LeBron James has concluded. The pair has had an interesting relationship, to say the least. They have had some pretty brutal public exchanges, leading to speculation that they don’t like each other too much.

While it is impossible to say for certain whether that’s true or not, it is worth noting that back in 2019 Kuzma regarded James as his GOAT.

Year 17 talking about this!!! Goat talk https://t.co/2D3fBnF37h

— kuz (@kylekuzma) November 26, 2019

In fact, at the time, he even regarded James greater than Kobe Bryant.

“Bron is Bron,” he told Hoops on Fox that year. “I’m never going to count him out, because he’s the greatest player of this generation. No question. … It’s hard to go against Kobe but, I mean, he’s been to the Finals seven straight times.”

Since then, his opinion seems to have changed a bit.

This past week, after getting dealt by the Lakers, Kuzma highlighted a new GOAT in his book – Bryant.

Greatest ever no question https://t.co/hYOsgUdIXS

— kuz (@kylekuzma) August 1, 2021

Has Kuzma legitimately changed his mind on the topic? Or is this is simply a dig at James, with whom he has had some friction in the past? That’s open to interpretation.

It’ll be interesting to see where the James-Kuzma relationship goes from here. They no longer need each other, so if they remain friends – their relationship was genuine this entire time. If they don’t – well then that’ll pretty much speak for itself.

This article first appeared on Game 7 and was syndicated with permission.

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