NBA standout Kyle Kuzma took aim at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of “cosplaying” as president after Mamdani floated the idea of arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite acknowledging City Hall lacks the power to do so.
The Milwaukee Bucks forward criticized Mamdani in a social media post, arguing that the mayor’s video message last week looked more like a bid for online attention than a serious effort to govern the nation’s largest city.
“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 Sunday afternoon on X, responding to Mamdani’s clip.
He then broadened the criticism beyond politics: “A mayor playing president. A founder playing operator. A content creator playing one-on-one thinking he’s a pro. A 25yr old with a ring light playing economist. Everyone auditioning. Nobody building,” he continued.
Kuzma added that society is “raising a generation” to value the appearance of achievement over the work itself. “The clip is the career. The pose is the product. The soundbite is the substitute for a life’s work,” he wrote, ending his post with the warning: “Don’t fall for distractions.”
Mamdani had posted a video last week branding Netanyahu a “war criminal” over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, while also conceding that he has no legal authority to arrest the Israeli prime minister when he visits New York City for the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The International Criminal Court, which is not recognized by the United States, issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Mamdani, a socialist, said his administration examined “every avenue available” in search of a possible legal path to detain Netanyahu, but ultimately determined the city does not have the authority to take him into custody.
“As I’ve said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, as I do for anyone else charged by the ICC,” Hizzoner said.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.”
The video statement came a day after President Trump vowed that Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.”
Kuzma, 31, has emerged as one of the NBA’s loudest critics of progressive politics, according to Fox News.
His comments are a stark contrast from fellow league stars, Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving and the San Antonio Spurs seven-footer Victor Wembanyama, who both liked Mamdani’s controversial video on Instagram.
