0+0+0+0+0! Just How Bad is Kyle Kuzma Right Now?

Game 1 of the 2025 NBA playoffs was supposed to be a chance for the Milwaukee Bucks to flex their muscles, even without Damian Lillard in the lineup. But the Bucks were handed a stunning 117-98 loss on the road to the Indiana Pacers, a defeat that has left many questioning not only the team’s future but also the performance of their trade deadline acquisition, Kyle Kuzma. It wasn’t just that the Bucks lost, it was the way they lost—sluggish, disorganized, and without much fight in them for the majority of the game. They trailed almost the entire time and at one point found themselves behind by as much as 28 points.

The game raised several issues, but perhaps the most glaring was Kuzma’s catastrophic performance, which reached legendary levels of incompetence. To put it simply, Kuzma was a non-factor. Over the course of 21 minutes on the floor, Kuzma put up a stat line that has become a rare and infamous occurrence in NBA history: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, and 0 blocks. That's right—zeroes across the board, in every category. Kuzma didn’t just have an off night—he had one of the worst playoff performances in the history of the game. In fact, he became just the sixth player in playoff history to play over 20 minutes and fail to register a single stat other than minutes played. It's an unimaginable level of futility, especially considering this is a player who has previously shown he can put up solid numbers when needed.

To be fair, the Bucks' overall performance was far from inspiring. Giannis Antetokounmpo, the undisputed leader of the team, did everything in his power to keep the game competitive, putting up 36 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 38 minutes of play. But even Giannis couldn't overcome the combined lackluster performances of his teammates, most notably Kuzma, who seemed completely out of sync with the flow of the game. Antetokounmpo did his part, but he had little to no help, especially from the starting five. Beyond Giannis, the rest of the Bucks' starters managed to combine for just 14 points in the game, which was absolutely unacceptable at this level of competition.

Kuzma’s performance was so bad that even a tweet from the Detroit Pistons’ official Twitter account—his hometown team, by the way—mocked him after the game. The Pistons posted, “At this point, don’t be Kyle Kuzma.” This was a playful jab referencing Kuzma’s own tweet from last season when the Pistons were enduring a 28-game losing streak. Back then, Kuzma had tweeted, “At this point, don’t be the team that ends the Pistons’ streak.” Irony at its finest, considering Kuzma’s performance in this game felt like the exact kind of play that a rebuilding team like the Pistons would expect from one of their own players during a tough season.

Now, let’s take a deeper look at what went wrong for Kuzma. His stat line was obviously disastrous, but what was even more perplexing was how utterly disengaged he seemed on both ends of the floor. Defensively, Kuzma was picked apart by Indiana’s star player, Benedict Mathurin, and on offense, he couldn’t hit a shot to save his life. He missed a wide-open three-pointer, and even when he was in position to grab a rebound, he seemed out of place, fumbling basic plays. His turnovers were egregious, and his confidence seemed non-existent. On multiple occasions, Kuzma appeared to be in slow motion, as if he were hesitant or unsure of what his role was in the game. When the Bucks needed him to step up, he completely crumbled.

Perhaps the most shocking part of Kuzma’s performance came midway through the third quarter when he had two opportunities to break his 0+0+0+0+0 curse with free throws. But instead of knocking them down, Kuzma missed both attempts, further solidifying his place in the annals of NBA playoff futility. If you ever wanted to see a player completely lost on the court, Kuzma's performance in this game was the epitome of it.

The scrutiny on Kuzma isn't without merit. He came to the Bucks in a trade earlier this season that saw the departure of veteran Khris Middleton, who had been an integral part of the Bucks’ championship run. In exchange, the Bucks got Kuzma, a player who, on paper, looked like he could add scoring depth to the team and provide some extra firepower alongside Giannis and Lillard. But here we are, just a few months later, with Kuzma’s performance not only underwhelming but downright embarrassing. For a team with championship aspirations, having a starter like Kuzma come up so short in such a critical game raises serious questions about the trade’s value and whether the Bucks made a mistake in letting Middleton go.

When we look at Kuzma’s stats this season, they don’t paint a picture of a player who is currently making an impact. In his 33 games with the Bucks, Kuzma averaged 14.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, with shooting splits of 45.5% from the field, 33.3% from three, and 66.3% from the free-throw line. While those numbers aren't terrible, they’re hardly the type of production you’d expect from someone tasked with filling a major role on a championship-contending team. When he’s on the floor, the Bucks' offensive and defensive efficiency is worse, as their net rating plummets with Kuzma in the game. It’s telling that when he’s off the court, the Bucks are significantly better, with a +11.0 point differential per 100 possessions. So, for all the hype about Kuzma being a key contributor to a contender, his on-court impact has been borderline negative.

Let’s not forget that Kuzma used to be a prominent scoring option for the Washington Wizards, where he averaged 22+ points per game in back-to-back seasons. But his ability to create offense for himself hasn’t translated well to a team with championship aspirations. It’s clear that Kuzma is not the player the Bucks hoped he would be, and while he’s still capable of scoring in isolation, his overall fit in Milwaukee has been disappointing.

It’s also worth mentioning that Kuzma’s mindset may be a factor in his poor play. After winning a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, Kuzma’s trajectory seemed promising. However, it’s possible that the taste of success in L.A. has dulled his competitive edge. He was reportedly hesitant to join the Dallas Mavericks earlier this season, stating that he didn’t believe the Mavs were a championship-caliber team. This kind of attitude raises questions about whether Kuzma is truly committed to being a key piece of a title contender or if he's already mentally checked out.

As for the Bucks, their future is now in question. Giannis remains the best player in the series, but without a healthy Lillard or more reliable contributions from his teammates, it’s hard to see how the Bucks can get past a Pacers team that is playing at an elite level. Indiana’s balanced attack, with a top-10 offense and defense, has put them in a strong position, and unless Kuzma can find some semblance of the player he used to be, the Bucks will be hard-pressed to advance.

Kuzma’s performance in Game 1 was a tough pill for Bucks fans to swallow. It wasn’t just a bad game—it was a historically bad game, and it’s hard to understand how a player with his experience and talent could fall apart so completely. The hope is that Kuzma can find his form as the series progresses, but after such a disastrous showing, it’s hard to be optimistic. If this is the best the Bucks are going to get from him, they might need to look elsewhere for a solution—before it’s too late.