D’Angelo Russell Pays Huge Compliment to New-Look Lakers Squad

Robert Marvi
2 Min Read

When D’Angelo Russell played his first two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was saddled with a number teammates who were lacking in talent, skill or experience.

This year, the Lakers have loaded up for a run at the NBA championship. Russell, now a member of the Golden State Warriors, paid homage to his former team and recognized how much has changed since his departure.

Russell was drafted by the Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and was expected by many to be a huge part of their future.

He was largely disappointing in his first two seasons with the Purple and Gold. Although he averaged 14.3 points and 4.0 assists per game during that span, he shot a weak 40.8 percent from the field.

In the summer of 2017, he was traded along with Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez and the draft rights to Kyle Kuzma in what’s still considered a controversial trade by Lakers fans.

Last season, Russell finally started to fulfill some of his potential, as he went on a huge hot streak at midseason that earned him an All-Star bid for the first time in his career. For the season, he put up 21.1 points and 7.0 assists per game.

He was briefly considered a free agent target for the Lakers, but decided to join the Warriors instead.

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Robert is a native of Santa Monica, Calif., and a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been an avid NBA fan since he was a little kid in the mid '90s and fell in love with the Nick Van Exel-led Lakers teams. He truly cherishes the Kobe Bryant-era of Lakers basketball and the five world championships that came with it, and is looking forward to the team's next NBA title.