LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 20: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game against the Miami Heat at Staples Center on February 20, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Andre Smith, younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers‘ forward Kyle Kuzma, made his way into the highly-selective NBA 2K professional player pool. Similar to his NBA player older brother, Smith hopes to be drafted to one of the 63 available spots in the virtual league.
“I hope it’s the first or second round. A lot of people don’t see me as a first-, second-round guy,” Smith told the Los Angeles Times. “But they didn’t see Kyle as a first- or second-round guy, either. A lot of people had him as an undrafted player.”
If Smith is drafted to an NBA 2K League team, there is a real possibility he could play as his older brother’s avatar on the virtual court.
“This is going to mean everything for him,” Kuzma told reporters about his younger brother. “This is what he does every single day — he plays video games eight-plus hours a day. That tells you how serious he is about this. I know it’s tough, for him, his whole life to have that label of being ‘Kuz’s little brother.’ Nobody wants to have their life defined like that. For him, he’s trying to make his own name.”
Kyle and Andre grew up loving video games. “A lot of times when he was very young, he didn’t know how to play the game. And I obviously didn’t want to play with him,” Kyle said about his younger brother. “I would always try to trick him — just give him a random remote and just play against the computer so I could have some competition.”
The two brother’s fates are bound and torn at unexpected angles. “I’m just not really a physically active person. I just don’t think physical activity is really my thing,” Smith said. “I’m just a gamer. I’m hooked to it. It’s in me.”
The NBA 2K League draft will be streamed via the league’s official Twitch channel and YouTube account.
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