Camille Naredo

Article (news)

Kyle Kuzma

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- NBA star Kyle Kuzma has taken notice of how passionate and crazy Filipinos are with basketball, especially after visiting the country twice.The 6-foot-9 Milwaukee Bucks forward shared his take on the discussion on height being a big factor for individuals, especially Filipinos, wanting to pursue a career in basketball. Kuzma was asked if heart can overcome the lack of height and athletic ability in a press conference in Parañaque City on Wednesday.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/8/20/nba-champ-kyle-kuzma-visits-local-community-in-manila-for-mural-unveiling-2218">READ: NBA champ Kyle Kuzma visits local community in Manila for mural unveiling</a></div>&quot;Yes. But you know, sometimes you just, you know, you just run out of height, you know, especially in the game of basketball. Like, you look at, like, there&#x27;s a lot of point guards that are like six foot seven now, you know, like, it&#x27;s hard, it&#x27;s a big league, but that doesn&#x27;t mean you can&#x27;t make it,&quot; he said.Kuzma believes anyone with perseverance and puts in the work can make it, but there&#x27;s also some luck in play.&quot;You just have to work, you have to have a lot of luck, a lot of luck, because it&#x27;s a super important part of being successful. You know when you have luck, being prepared for that is very, very important to meet that opportunity,&quot; he shared.&quot;And, yeah, you know, if you make it to the NBA, you&#x27;re part of that with just one percent life, you know. It&#x27;s so hard to do it regardless, if you&#x27;re tall or short,&quot; the NBA champion explained.When asked what piece of advice he would give to Filipino kids, both on and off the court, Kuzma said it boils down to three things.&quot;It&#x27;s super cliche, because everybody says it, but it&#x27;s literally the truth, you know, just to work hard and just block out all the noise, and just believe in yourself. It&#x27;s real simple,&quot; he said.&quot;I think those are three things that I&#x27;ve always done my entire life, to be in this situation that I&#x27;m in, to be on the stage, to be able to do what I love every day, to play basketball, and, you know, just find that purpose, find that purpose in life,&quot; Kuzma added.The NBA star is in the country for the &quot;KuzManila II&quot; tour from August 18 to 20.

NBA star Kyle Kuzma has taken notice of how passionate and crazy Filipinos are with basketball, especially after visiting the country twice.

NBA star Kyle Kuzma has taken notice of how passionate and crazy Filipinos are with basketball, especially after visiting the country twice.

Is height really might in basketball? Kyle Kuzma weighs in

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Is height really might in basketball? Kyle Kuzma weighs in

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 21, 2025 01:16 AM PHT

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