Kyle Kuzma once tweeted that the Nuggets should give Joker the damn ball and get the hell out of the way. That was the 2022 playoffs, a Wizards star watching from home. His latest post is a different kind of take, in light of a political rally in Michigan.
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On Sunday, the Bucks forward aimed at Barack Obama’s campaign speeches in his home state of Michigan.
“This desperate psyop is unbearable to watch in Michigan,” Kuzma wrote on X. “So tired of listening to it. 1 in 4 black people in Michigan are below the poverty line and the message is Muslim/Jewish duo is what we’re talking about.” Kuzma was born in Flint, Michigan.
Barack Obama used his Detroit rally to urge voters to back Democratic Senate ahead of the November 3 midterms. Kuzma’s comments specifically pointed to Obama’s speech at yesterday’s rally.
“Last thing that Michiganders care about is a religious identity pitch. And on top of that Michigan is a state where the population of Muslims and Jews are both 1 percent. What are we talking about,” Kuzma’s post added.
The target was a line of rhetoric from the campaign trail. In one of his recent speeches, Obama referenced Michigan’s senator Elissa Slotkin, who has been campaigning alongside Abdul El-Sayed, and talked about how having a Muslim man and a Jewish woman representing the state could carry a message. Kuzma took it as an identity pitch, and said it missed the economic concerns he sees at home.
Obama has been busy in the state. On Saturday, he told thousands of people in Detroit that the midterms could be a “course correction,” urging Michigan voters to back Democrats Jocelyn Benson and Abdul El-Sayed.
Obama made his first public show of support for Abdul El-Sayed after staying out of the bitter August Democratic primary. Now, with the November midterms approaching, Obama threw his weight behind the Senate nominee and said El-Sayed would “finish the job we started” on healthcare, tying his campaign to a cause that helped define Obama’s presidency.
It is not clear whether Kyle Kuzma was reacting to that rally or an earlier speech, which reports described only as one of Obama’s recent campaign speeches.
Kyle Kuzma’s Michigan Roots Shape His Political Commentary
Kuzma spent four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2017 to 2021, establishing himself as a valuable part of their rotation. Drafted 27th overall in 2017, Kuzma earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors in 2018 before helping the Lakers win the 2020 NBA championship.
Over the years, he has spoken openly on social media over the offseason about issues ranging from AI to economics to politics. The Michigan angle is also personal. He has described Flint as “a really violent place” with a lot of temptation to get into the streets, and said basketball was his “safe haven.”
That background helps explain why he framed the issue around Michigan’s economic struggles.
The poverty claim stands up in rough terms. Michigan had a 13.4% poverty rate in the 2024 American Community Survey, and the statewide rate for Black residents was 26.3%.
The disagreement is also about messaging. Kuzma argues that voters in Michigan want to hear about money and opportunity, and that a religious identity message is the wrong pitch.
Obama’s Detroit speech, as reported, leaned on healthcare, change and a “course correction,” while the Slotkin and El-Sayed pairing was framed as a sign of the state’s diversity.
With the midterms days away, a post from an NBA player can reach a different audience than a typical campaign message, which is why this one is getting attention. Kuzma has made his view clear, and it comes from someone who grew up in the state.