Former Runnin' Ute Kyle Kuzma debuts new Washington Wizards Bloom jersey

With the release of the Washington Wizards new city edition jersey, former Runnin' Ute Kyle Kuzma was the primary player to debut the new uniform.

Former Utah Ute Kyle Kuzma saw the spotlight as the poster child when his Washington Wizards unveiled their new City Edition jerseys on Tuesday.

The Wizards, a team that has rarely varied from its standard red, white and blue color scheme, mixed it up this time with a pink “cherry blossom” design. The design honors the famous cherry blossoms of Washington, DC— just in time for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which is currently underway.

Kuzma is well known for his fashion sense, making him the obvious choice to represent the Wizards as a jersey model.

The 26-year-old forward played 96 games for the University of Utah from 2014 to 2017. He averaged 10.1 points per game during that time.

In the 2017 NBA draft, the Brooklyn Nets took Kuzma in the first round 27th overall before sending him to the Los Angeles Lakers that same day. Over 342 NBA games, he has averaged 15.6 points per game. He won the NBA Championship in 2020 with the Lakers before going to the Wizards in a blockbuster trade, in which Russell Westbrook went the other way.

The Wizards join the MLB’s Washington Nationals as the second Washington-based team to unveil a cherry blossom alternate jersey this year. 

With the NHL bringing back its Reverse Retro series for the 2022-23 season, perhaps the Washington Capitals will do something similar.

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