D’Angelo Russell says son’s birth ‘reshaped’ his world: ‘A new purpose in life, beyond basketball’

In 2022, D’Angelo Russell and his partner Laura Ivaniukas welcomed their first child to the world.

Russell recently shared that the birth of his son gave him a new purpose in life and spoke about the beauty in that.

“Before becoming a parent, life seemed complete,” Russell told Andscape. “But it was the arrival of Riley that filled every corner of our hearts with a love so deep. It reshaped our world, continuously teaching us patience, resilience, and the true meaning of unconditional love. A new purpose in life, beyond basketball. …

“Before I had a kid, I always felt like I needed to be a part of my friends’ motion and see what they had going on and this and that. And I always realized I was a homebody. So, once I had a kid it allowed me to just settle into being a homebody and focus in on myself and my foundation, my family and the life after basketball and all these different entities.”

For the elder Russell, the birth of his son came right before an NBA season that shook up his career in a big way.

He and Ivaniukas welcomed their child in September of 2022. Shortly thereafter, the one-time All-Star began the 2022-23 NBA season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but months later, he was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers.

He has been a valuable member of the Purple and Gold ever since and could remain with the franchise beyond the current campaign depending on how the dominoes fall.

The elder Russell and Ivaniukas will soon see their family grow even bigger, as they’re expecting a daughter. That addition to the family will give the couple another new chapter to learn and grow through.

It’s hard to imagine that much — if anything — takes up more space in the elder Russell’s mind than his family these days, but he just put together one of the best regular seasons of his NBA career and will now look to keep things rolling in the postseason.

The guard averaged 18.0 points, 6.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game during the regular season while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from deep.

His Lakers will face the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament on Tuesday, with L.A. looking to secure the No. 7 seed in the playoff bracket. Last season, the Lakers emerged from the play-in round to eventually reach the Western Conference Finals, and a similar run would be a welcome development for the organization.

But no matter what happens, the elder Russell has plenty to be excited about as he and his family continue to enjoy everything that life has to offer.