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Kyle Kuzma has skilled each extremes of the NBA journey. He was a key piece of the 2020 championship-winning Los Angeles Lakers, enjoying alongside LeBron James on basketball’s grandest stage.
In Washington, he confronted a unique actuality — one the place his staff failed to interrupt .500. The highs have been exhilarating, and the lows are humbling for the now Milwaukee Buck. But via all of it, Kuzma has remained adaptable, studying to navigate each the enterprise of basketball and the enterprise of being Kyle Kuzma.
In recent times, Kuzma has expanded his funding portfolio, refined his private model and launched his personal media enterprise — all whereas sustaining a pointy concentrate on his day job. The important thing, he says, is realizing what’s actual and what’s simply noise.
“You undergo an investor journey the place, at first, every little thing sounds thrilling, and also you wish to do all of it,” Kuzma explains. “However as you become old, you understand there’s lots of fluff on the market. Having a powerful basis and diversifying is vital, however it’s simply as essential to concentrate on what you really know and might construct.”
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Very similar to his recreation on the court docket, Kuzma describes his strategy to entrepreneurship as “plug and play.” In basketball, his taking pictures and dimension permit him to adapt seamlessly to any staff. In enterprise, he focuses on connecting entrepreneurs with the fitting folks to deliver their concepts to life.
“If I’ve a buddy with a enterprise, I’d say, ‘Hey, I do know somebody at Amazon who might assist with that,’ and make the introduction,” he says. “It is all about making the fitting connections.”
Regardless of refining his focus over time, Kuzma stays concerned in a variety of industries — from CPG and spirits to automobile washes. He credit his capability to juggle a number of ventures to his ADHD, saying he thrives when engaged on “1,000,000 issues directly.”
Past his ADHD, Kuzma credit his mom, Karri, for uplifting a lot of his off-court ventures, like his current funding in Main League Volleyball. It was Karri who first launched him to the game, and as we speak, she runs the Kyle Kuzma Household Basis, which helps single moms.
“I come from humble beginnings, so I perceive what it means to be poor,” Kuzma says. “Giving again is at all times vital—whether or not it is to my hometown or via the work we do for single moms and underprivileged children through the holidays. There’s lots I wish to accomplish with my basis, and it is going to be enormous. I am lucky to have an amazing staff that makes all of it occur. My mother runs the inspiration, and he or she does an incredible job.”
Picture credit score: Kyle Kuzma
That mindset additionally influences his enterprise choices. As a substitute of chasing traits, Kuzma invests in ventures that align together with his values and pursuits, counting on a trusted staff to assist execute his imaginative and prescient.
“I wish to preserve it easy,” he says. “My job is to establish what’s actual, what’s not, and what has potential. Then, I depend on my staff to assist break it down.”
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Kontrolling the narrative — Kyle Kuzma type
Kuzma has confronted his share of criticism. As a younger participant on a LeBron-led contender, he endured scrutiny over his function. Later, he skilled media backlash in Washington because the Wizards tumbled down the standings. Slightly than letting others dictate the story, he created Kuz Kontrol, a direct-to-fan e-newsletter that bypasses conventional media, letting him inform his personal story.
“As athletes, we have to management the narrative round us,” Kuzma says. “We regularly get misconstrued by individuals who solely learn press clippings and do not really know us.”
By way of Kuz Kontrol, subscribers get an unfiltered take a look at his life — every little thing from his ideas on being traded to Milwaukee to behind-the-scenes tales from Michael Rubin’s unique White Occasion.
“It is all actual matters curated by my staff, who works on the e-newsletter,” Kuzma says. “We focus on what’s occurred over the previous two weeks, jot it down, and switch it right into a story.”
The e-newsletter additionally faucets into Kuzma’s distinctive crossover enchantment. Some followers subscribe for his takes on basketball, whereas others are drawn to his tunnel matches and high-fashion sensibilities — or his supermodel fiancée, Winnie Harlow. Kuz Kontrol displays the intersection of sports activities and way of life, an area Kuzma has rigorously curated through the years, notably via his expressive pre-game vogue decisions.
“I’ve modified how folks strategy the tunnel,” Kuzma says of his game-day outfits. “Guys like Russell Westbrook and Nick Younger began it, however I am sporting precise runway items and objects not designed for video games.”
Kuzma’s ardour for vogue is real, however he additionally acknowledges its branding energy.
“Vogue is an area for relevance — not simply in sports activities, however generally,” he says. “It retains you within the dialog. When you’re constructing a model, it is a helpful software as a result of, in a approach, it is free media. Simply placing on the fitting garments could make an announcement.”
All through his eight seasons, Kyle Kuzma has been the topic of a lot commentary. Lakers followers as soon as hailed him because the successor to Kobe Bryant, whereas Redditors have criticized him as “horrible.” But one factor stays clear: whether or not he is sporting a Lakers, Wizards or Bucks jersey — or an enormous pink sweater — Kuzma will at all times prioritize being true to himself. And up to now, it is labored out fairly properly for him.
