The Milwaukee Bucks certainly hope that Kyle Kuzma will be better in his first full season with them after being thrown in the fire at last year's trade deadline. While there's been plenty of chatter about how they should use him, everything starts with his shot diet. If the Bucks can get him to clean up his poor shot selection, it could lead to a bounce-back season this franchise needs.
Poor shot selection sunk Kuzma last season
Kuzma's shot selection paints a clear picture as to why he struggled with the team last season. During his regular season stint with Milwaukee, Kuzma shot 1-of-8 (12.5 percent) on turnaround hook shots, 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) on step back jumpers, and just 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) on turnaround fadeaway shots. Those are shots he simply had no business taking.
With all due respect to the Washington Wizards, who look like a team on the rise with an assortment of young pieces, things were far different in Milwaukee last year. On a struggling Wizards team, Kuzma didn't have to worry about his shot selection. He could shoot whatever shot he wanted whenever he wanted. In Milwaukee, they needed him to dial it back and play complementary ball. It didn't happen.
Poor shots have always been present throughout Kuzma's career. For every good game he has, there will be one filled with unnecessary pull-up shots, heavily contested layups, and other shots that other players wouldn't dare take. It happened consistently with the Milwaukee Bucks last season, but that must not carry over into 2025-26.
There were shades of Kuzma being a quality contributor in Milwaukee last season, and they came when he was unsurprisingly playing as a complementary piece. He shot 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) on his cutting layups. He also sank 35.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. The key to getting the best Kuzma is putting him in positions where he won't be the star of the show.
If the Milwaukee Bucks want to bounce back next season, they need Kyle Kuzma to play a part in it. They can't have someone making $22 million not impacting the game positively. He has the tools to be a quality rotational piece, but the coaching staff and players must keep him out of the trap where his shot selection starts to plague the offense.
A diet of hook shots, turnarounds, and fadeaways could cause significant issues.
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