Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young revealed the one NBA player he would like to get in a boxing ring with.
Young’s response shouldn’t come as a surprise, as he chose former Lakers and current Minnesota Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell.
If @NickSwagyPYoung could box one NBA player…@SIChrisMannix knew right away 😂 pic.twitter.com/LkodjSE92i
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) September 2, 2022
“Of course, you know, D-Lo – D’Angelo,” Young said when asked which NBA player he’d want to box.
Young and Russell have a lot of history from their time on the Lakers. Russell created a rift in their relationship when he recorded Young saying that he cheated on his then-fiancée Iggy Azalea.
After the incident, Russell ended up dealing with isolation issues from others in the Lakers locker room. NBA insiders Baxter Holmes and Marc Stein reported that some teammates lost trust in the young guard.
“Sources told ESPN that some teammates’ trust in Russell is eroding after a video surfaced in the past week that shows Russell recording a private conversation between himself and teammate Nick Young,” Holmes and Stein wrote. “Young does not appear to realize he is being taped.”
The incident certainly hurt Russell’s tenure with the Lakers, and he was eventually traded to the Brooklyn Nets. Young, who hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2018-19 season, still appears to have a grudge against Russell for what he did.
There’s no doubt that a Russell-Young boxing match would capture the interest of fans across the country, especially those in Los Angeles. However, it’s unlikely anything will materialize while Russell is still playing in the NBA.
Russell and the Timberwolves made the playoffs in the 2021-22 season, and he played a big role in the team’s success, averaging 18.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game during the regular season. He shot 41.1 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from beyond the arc.
Russell may have crossed the line with his actions in the Young situation, but he’s focused on continuing a solid NBA career at the moment over any kind of revenge boxing event.
