The first half of Monday night’s tilt between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t go well for the home team in San Francisco. After a reasonably competitive opening quarter, the Warriors took a 15-point deficit to the locker room, allowing the Lakers to shoot 68.6 percent from the floor. To that end, it would be reasonable to expect some frustration for Golden State and, well, that did exist. However, there was a single moment of abject joy for the Warriors and Kyle Kuzma was responsible.
With 7:11 left in the second quarter, Warriors rookie big man James Wiseman was called for a technical foul, and Kuzma strolled to the free throw line for one shot. From there, things got weird, with Kuzma missing the attempt in jarringly ugly fashion and the Warriors bench erupting in hysterics.
Kuz air-balled a technical free throw and the Warriors bench ducked for cover
(via @NBCSWarriors)pic.twitter.com/a8iQBIqG8i
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) March 16, 2021
Obviously, it is weird to see an NBA player miss a free throw as badly as Kuzma did here under any circumstances. On top of that, it is even more rare to see a technical foul free throw airballed, and it wasn’t as if it was simply a case of Kuzma pulling the string. It was just that far from the intended target.
The ugliness of the miss likely inspired Golden State’s reaction, but the players wasted no time. The broadcast was baffled as well, and of course, Draymond Green was pictured putting on a show on the bench with his personal celebration. This particular play likely won’t serve as a pivot point for the game itself, but it was certainly fun and weird, adding a brief moment of joy for the Warriors on an otherwise ugly night.