Bucks’ Kyle Kuzma issues blunt response to Jaylen Brown’s ‘Black Wall Street’ take

Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma has pushed back on Philadelphia 76ers star Jaylen Brown’s recent comments about rebuilding Black Wall Street, offering a blunt perspective on how athletes should approach business and community investment.

Kuzma shared his thoughts in a series of posts on X while acknowledging Brown’s frustration. “I hear JB frustration but this ain’t it,” he wrote.

The 31-year-old first questioned the business guidance that some professional athletes receive, putting the responsibility on players to be more careful about who they trust with their money and careers.

“Most handlers around players don’t know the first thing about building a business. And that’s on US. We put our people in positions of power they were never trained for and act surprised when it goes left. Accountability starts in your own circle,” Kuzma wrote.

He also took aim at the idea of community investment, arguing that simply putting money into a business owned by someone close to you does not necessarily create a sustainable investment.

“‘Invest in your community’ sounds good until you break down what it actually means. Buying your cousin a barbershop isn’t community investment, it’s a bill you’ll be paying forever. Any real advisor will tell you that. It’s really only buying real estate commercially that makes sense,” Kuzma wrote.

Kuzma’s strongest disagreement came when he addressed the scale of the effort and who should be expected to lead it.

“Rebuilding Black Wall Street was never and should never be on athletes. There’s about 20 Black billionaires in this country. Have they ever sat at one table to do something massive? I’ll wait,” he wrote.

Rather than immediately pursuing large-scale projects, Kuzma believes the focus should first be on building financial strength that can eventually create greater influence.

“Make great investments FIRST. Stack real capital. Then your second and third wave is when you do the massive things… with enough weight behind your name to pull the city, the state, real partners into it with you,” Kuzma wrote.

Kuzma’s comments add another perspective to the ongoing discussion surrounding athletes, wealth and community investment. His argument centers on building capital and making strategic investments before attempting to tackle projects on a much larger scale.

For the 2018 All-Rookie First Team member, meaningful impact starts with having the financial foundation and resources to make that impact sustainable.

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