Kyle Kuzma on Monday nearly put Ben Simmons on the wrong side of a highlight reel. Instead, the Washington Wizards forward shared in Simmons’ embarrassment.
Simmons’ Brooklyn Nets hosted Kuzma’s Wizards for a preseason contest at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Wizards led the Nets 9-8 three minutes into the contest between the two potential East cellar dwellers.
Kuzma got the ball on the left wing and hit Simmons with a subtle-yet-nasty hesitation move that dropped the former Defensive Player of the Year runner-up to the ground. But as every hooper knows, no ankle breaker is a true highlight unless you make the shot. Kuzma didn’t just miss the shot. He missed the rim entirely.
KYLE KUZMA ANKLE BREAKER 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Jw5mC2RQLY
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) October 14, 2024
Adding to the hilarity was that the Wizards’ bench players had stood up in anticipation of a made basket. They ended up sitting back down while likely feeling some second-hand embarrassment.
Over the last two seasons, Kuzma has developed into a 20-point scorer for the Wizards. But his improvement hasn’t made him immune to some of the most humiliating moments on the court.
Simmons, meanwhile, has basically been treated as the butt of the joke ever since he left the Philadelphia 76ers in 2021.
