Kyle Kuzma's key 'study' advice to Wizards' young pupil

01/15/2025 06:46 PM

Although Kyle Kuzma’s name is circulating in trade rumors as the Feb. 6 deadline approaches, the former NBA champion still mentors the Washington Wizards’ youngsters. After Wednesday’s practice, rookie guard Bub Carrington shared a recent piece of advice that Kuzma gave him.

Bub Carrington shares advice that Kyle Kuzma gave him recently:

"Kuz told me to study guards' early quarter and late quarter tendencies. It helps because most guys are rhythm guys who do the same thing multiple times…it gives you an advantage in guarding them."#Wizardspic.twitter.com/OOiET5SJ5S

— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) January 15, 2025

“Kuz told me to study guards’ early and late quarter tendencies,” the 19-year-old explained. “It helps because most of the guards are kind of rhythm guys who do the same thing most of the time, so when you kind of know that, you have an advantage in guarding them.”

Carrington, who’s still a year and a half away from the legal drinking age, has had growing pains defensively. The Pitt alum’s 119.6 defensive rating, an advanced stat measuring a player’s efficiency at preventing the other team from scoring, is second-worst on the Wizards (6-32), via NBA.com. On the bright side, he and Kuzma are tied for the team’s fifth-highest steals-per-game average, with 0.7.

Bumps in the road are inevitable for Carrington as he navigates his first NBA season. The Baltimore native graduated high school only two years ago and now has to face the world’s best basketball players daily. That’s why established veterans like Kuzma are vital to Washington’s rebuild, as no amount of coaching can replace an older teammate’s guidance.

That’s not to discount the importance of coaches, as every good player has been developed by a knowledgeable coach at some point in their career. However, to receive advice from an accomplished NBA player while routinely playing with them is a dream that only a select few amount of hoopers get to live out.

To that point, Kuzma’s defensive pointers could help Carrington not only improve individually, but also Washington as a whole. It won’t be a quick turnaround, but the rookie gradually elevating that part of his game would inevitably have a ripple effect on the team’s numbers as well. The Wizards currently rank last in the league with 122.6 points per game allowed, so there’s nowhere to go but up.

Brian Keefe pleased with Wizards rookies thus far

Washington has fully committed to youth player development, as second-year guard Bilal Coulibaly tops the team with 33.3 minutes per game, while Carrington is third with 30.2. Fellow rookies Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George rank fourth with 27.2 and seventh with 25.2, respectively.

Sarr, Carrington, and George have played 1,898 combined minutes, which is the most for any team’s group of rookies this season.
The Wizards are only the seventh team since 1997-98 to deploy three or more rookies at least 25 minutes or more per game, via NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner.

While that’s led to mixed on-court results, Wizards head coach Brian Keefe loves their work ethic.

“The main thing to me is I’ve liked how they’ve worked, and their process and how their habits have developed,” the former UNLV guard said Wednesday. “They’ve been consistent with that since the Summer League. These guys have been terrific with their preparation and work in the gym. That’s probably the most important thing to me is learning how to be professional, I think that’s what makes you consistent long-term in your career.”

That long-term consistency is an elusive goal that can only be achieved through a mix of talent, maturity, health, and consistent effort. However, each of the aforementioned players has a good foundation to build on going forward.

Coulibaly for example, has taken a noticeable leap this season. The 20-year-old is averaging four more points, 1.7 more assists, and 0.5 more steals per game as he routinely guards the opposing team’s best player.

Meanwhile, Sarr has topped Aschburner’s NBA Rookie Ladder for two straight weeks after winning Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors in December. The seven-footer is also tied for seventh in the league with 1.6 blocks per game and shot 45.5% from deep in December.

Lastly, Carrington and George have each shown flashes. The former scored double-digit points in three of his first four January games, while the latter has at least two steals in three of the last five. Those may not be eye-popping numbers, but they’re both producing similarly to how Coulibaly did at this time last season.

It’s hard to have the patience for baby steps, but locker-room figures like Kuzma are helping smooth out that process for Washington.

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