Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma has found himself at the centre of a political debate after resharing a viral video of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on X. Mamdani was speaking about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expected visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September and the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.
While Kuzma did not mention the mayor by name, the message attached to the post led many users to believe it was aimed at Mamdani. His comments triggered both support and criticism across social media.
Kyle Kuzma’s X post on Zohran Mamdani
Kuzma reposted Mamdani’s video and shared a longer message about what he believes is a growing culture of people pretending to be something they are not.
“This is 2026. People cosplaying as things they don’t have the authority, the talent, or the track record to actually be. Just for content,” Kuzma wrote.
He then added, “Amayor playing president. A founder playing operator. A content creator playing 1-on-1 hooper. A 25-year-old with a ring light playing economist.”
“Everyone auditioning. Nobody building.”
{{/usCountry}}“Everyone auditioning. Nobody building.”
{{/usCountry}}Kuzma continued, “The clip is the career. The pose is the product. The soundbite is the substitute for a life’s work.”
He ended the post with, “Don’t fall for distractions.”
Although Mamdani’s name was not included anywhere in the message, many people believed the mayor was the clear target because Kuzma attached his comments directly to Mamdani’s viral video.
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What did Zohran Mamdani say about Benjamin Netanyahu?
In the video,Mamdani spoke about Netanyahu’s expected visit to New York in September. He said his administration had looked at every possible legal option but found that New York City does not have the authority to carry out the ICC arrest warrant on its own.
Mamdani calledNetanyahu a war criminal, blamed him for the deaths and suffering of Palestinians, and said he should face a court of law. He also urged the US federal government to enforce the ICC warrant and said Netanyahu was not welcome in New York City.
The video received massive attention online, crossing 80 million views on X.
Also Read:Zohran Mamdani edges past Trump in early TIME Person of the Year poll
Kyle Kuzma responds after users criticise his post
The repost led to strong reactions. One user replied, “and you’re cosplaying as a basketball player.”
Kuzma answered with a short response: “yea, sure lol.”
Another user argued that Kuzma chose to criticise someone calling for the prosecution of a war criminal instead of directing the same criticism elsewhere.
The discussion followed another recent debate involving Kuzma, when he criticised athletes who complain about taxes reducing their earnings.
“It’s exhausting hearing athletes break down how their millions ‘aren’t really millions’ after taxes and fees,” Kuzma wrote. “40M after taxes is still 40M.”
He added that lifestyle choices, not taxes, are often the bigger issue, writing, “Modest is allowed.”