As was the case last season, D’Angelo Russell was a big disappointment come playoff time against the Denver Nuggets. He shot just 38.4% from the field and 31.8% from 3-point range in the Los Angeles Lakers’ five-game loss to Denver in the first round.
Last year, when they were swept by the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals, he mustered 6.3 points on 32.3% overall and 13.3% from downtown.
On the other hand, Russell did very well in the regular season, especially during the second half of the schedule. He put up 18 points and 6.3 assists a contest while hitting a career-high 41.5% of his 3-point attempts.
He feels that overall, he did very well, especially considering the adversity he dealt with, and he even had the audacity to refer to himself in the third person when reflecting on his season (at 2:13).
“When I signed my contract last year, I knew what position I was going to put myself in, so to be in that position now with a little leverage, I’ll try to take advantage of it.” D'Angelo Russell on his future. pic.twitter.com/3f5nTJvyEr
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 30, 2024
“Hell of a year by D’Angelo. Humbly saying that,” Russell said. “Through the ups and downs, through the whatever you want to call it, it never bothered me. Always kept myself sane, when I look at my phone, my family, my friends, my circle is just texting me telling me how proud they are of me.
“So for me, that’s all I need. I don’t need anything else.”
Russell went through a bad slump in December, which led to him being benched by Darvin Ham. On top of that, he had to deal with constant trade rumors, especially as the Lakers were reportedly trying to trade him for the Atlanta Hawks’ Dejounte Murray.
But he fought through it all, and his game rebounded in mid-January, especially once he returned to L.A.’s starting lineup.
Russell can turn down the player option in his contract for next season to become a free agent this summer. But one has to wonder how much value he’d have in free agency considering how much his production has declined each year in the playoffs.