After being romantically linked to Jordan Clarkson, 27, Blake Griffin, 30, and Ben Simmons, 22, it seemed like Kendall Jenner, 23, found a new basketball bae in Kyle Kuzma, 23. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star spent Independence Day aboard a yacht with the Los Angeles Lakers star. Yet, KUWTK fans should put the breaks on coming up with their couple name – Kezma? Kuzdall? – because an insider EXCLUSIVELY tells HollywoodLife that the only fireworks between these two that day were in the July 4th sky. “Kendall is very happy being single and Kyle Kuzma is nothing more than just a friend.”
“She really thinks that he is a nice guy, but they don’t have any romantic sparks going on, and you won’t be seeing them in a relationship,” the insider tells HollywoodLife. “There isn’t anything more with them, its just all friendly.” While that doesn’t mean that sparks won’t fly between these two – anything can happen when you’re a KarJenner — right now, these two are simply friends. Speaking of staying friendly, Ben Simmons — whose relationship with Kendall ended in May after it reportedly just “ran its course” — appeared to support his ex online a month after their split.
On June 20, Kendall posted a picture of her posing in front of a Proactiv Paint Positivity mural in Brooklyn. While Kendall didn’t allow any comments on the picture, it accumulated over 1.5 million likes. Among those many ‘likes’ was one from Ben! It’s good to see that after the breakup that he is still supportive of Kendall. Perhaps this means that these two aren’t entirely done with each other?
Ben’s breakup with Kendall had more to do with his lousy mood than anything. He and the Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the 2019 NBA Playoffs in the most jaw-dropping and heart-breaking ways. In the final seconds of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Kawhi Leonard sunk a buzzer-beater to give the Toronto Raptors the 92-90 win (while also sending Ben Simmons and the 76ers back to Philly.) “Ben knew he wasn’t going to be a good person to be around with this summer since it really is going to stay with him and haunt him for a while,” a source EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife.
Ben wanted to spend the summer improving his game — “This upcoming year is a big contract year for Ben, he will be looking to sign a huge, lucrative deal and he wants to show his team the devotion he has for them,” the source told us — and his schedule didn’t really work out with Kendall’s “So, they both mutually decided that it would be best to take a break from each other.”