The feud between Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell continues to this day with Young apparently responding to a recent social media post by calling the current Los Angeles Lakers guard a “b—-.”
After many pointed out that Russell was crying during the late stages of a recent Lakers game, he responded by calling himself a “f—— gangster.” Young saw that and presented his different, more derogatory description instead.
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The animosity between the two goes back to their time as Lakers teammates when Russell recorded Young talking about other women while still with then-fiancée Iggy Azalea. That reportedly created isolation issues for Russell in the Los Angeles locker room.
Since then, Young said he wanted to have a boxing match against Russell. He also said Russell was the most annoying teammate he ever had.
Russell eventually was traded to the Brooklyn Nets and played for the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves before rejoining the Lakers during the 2022-23 NBA season. He re-signed with them as a free agent this past offseason.
Young hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2018-19 campaign with the Denver Nuggets.
Russell has had an up-and-down 2023-24 season so far. After being removed from the starting lineup by Darvin Ham after the head coach consulted with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the 27-year-old has regained a starting role.
He has played very well in the five games since then, which reportedly may have increased the odds that the Lakers will keep him instead of dealing him away prior to the NBA trade deadline.
In the five games since Jan. 13, Russell is averaging 27.2 points per contest while shooting 55.9 percent from the field and 53.7 percent from 3-point range.
It does seem that whatever locker room issues that were caused by the rift with Young may be long forgotten among the current Lakers. However, it does seem that there are still some genuine lingering hard feelings being harbored by Young.
