Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma gets absolute clowning for shocking gaffes in Raptors collapse
Kyle Kuzma and the Wizards have been unintentionally hilarious to start the 2023-24 season, especially after their epic collapse vs. Raptors.
Expectations for the Washington Wizards for the 2023-24 season were in the mud after the new regime finally decided to embrace the rebuilding process. But no one could have foreseen that the Wizards would brazenly throw away games the way they did on Monday night in their 111-107 loss to the Toronto Raptors — especially when it’s still November and only 10 games have passe
While there were plenty of players who must shoulder the blame for what was an absolutely horrendous performance against the Raptors, arguably no other Wizards player deserves more blame in their inexplicable choke job than Kyle Kuzma, 34-point night notwithstanding. After all, Kuzma is the culprit for the play that may have shifted the momentum of the game towards the Raptors’ favor for good.
With a little over five minutes left in the fourth quarter, it seemed clear that Pascal Siakam tapped the ball out of bounds, so the ball should have resulted in the Wizards’ possession. The referees, however, called it Raptors ball. This did not sit well with Kuzma, who immediately ran towards his bench on the other side of the floor to urge his coaching staff to challenge the call. The Raptors, however, thought on their feet and inbounded the ball quickly, resulting in an easy layup for Scottie Barnes that trimmed the Wizards’ lead to single digits.
But Kyle Kuzma’s bizarre second half did not end there. Despite having failed to score since the 5:47 mark of the final frame, the Wizards still had a chance to retake the lead or at least tie the game with around seven seconds left. Deni Avdija then proceeded to inbound the ball to Kuzma, the team’s leading scorer, but he ended up stepping out of bounds, essentially sealing perhaps the most embarrassing defeat of their careers.
While there were plenty of players who must shoulder the blame for what was an absolutely horrendous performance against the Raptors, arguably no other Wizards player deserves more blame in their inexplicable choke job than Kyle Kuzma, 34-point night notwithstanding. After all, Kuzma is the culprit for the play that may have shifted the momentum of the game towards the Raptors’ favor for good.
