Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell discussed the similarities and differences between playing alongside LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, the unfair injury-prone label on Anthony Davis, his bond with Austin Reaves, and more with HoopsHype Senior NBA Insider Michael Scotto.
Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell recently discussed how he’s handled the pressure of a contract season and wants to remain a Laker in free agency this summer as part of a lengthy interview with HoopsHype.
In the remainder of the interview, Russell explained how the birth of his son, Riley, has changed his life, the similarities and differences between playing alongside LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, how the season has gone for the Lakers, the unfair injury-prone label on Anthony Davis, his bond with Austin Reaves, and more below.
Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell free agency preview and why he’s underrated amid a career year from HoopsHype’s NBA Insider Michael Scotto.
Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell is playing the best basketball of his career in his prime, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
This season, Russell has shot more efficiently than his All-Star campaign in Brooklyn, shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point range, which ranks third among players ranked in the NBA’s Top 25 in made threes per game.
Since Russell’s son, Riley, was born on September 24, 2022, Russell has averaged 18.0 points on 46.6 percent shooting from the field and 40.9 percent from 3-point range, 6.3 assists, and 3.0 rebounds with a plus-215 rating in 137 games.
According to Russell, the birth of his son helped him know his purpose in every game.
“Everything I do, I’d see his face,” Russell told HoopsHype. “It’s either this or that. What are you going to do? It makes my decision easy when it comes to anything. It does have a change and effect on you. It puts you in this state of mind that it’s mine or I’ll die for it. It’s been good.”
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Russell has an upcoming decision on his $18.69 million player option for the 2024-25 season and is considered one of the top free agents on the market should he decline to exercise his player option and become an unrestricted free agent.
“It’s definitely pressure,” Russell told HoopsHype when asked what it’s like playing in a potential contract season. “It’s something that can eat a lot of people up in the league. A lot of people can be too high at times and too low at times, which causes an emotional roller coaster through the ups and downs of the season. For me, I wanted to control that. I wanted to stay sane and stay even-keeled through the ups and the downs.”
While thriving under the pressure of a contract season, Russell could be of interest to several teams looking for point guard help during free agency this summer.
How many young hoopers dreamed about making it to the league and wearing a shoe with their name on it? Having a signature sneaker model in any sport, much less basketball, is rarefied air. Per our research, there are 33 active NBA and WNBA players …
How many young hoopers dreamed about making it to the league and wearing a shoe with their name on it? Having a signature sneaker model in any sport, much less basketball, is rarefied air. Per our research, there are 33 active NBA and WNBA players with their own signature line in 2024.
Here is a comprehensive list of the best signature model basketball sneakers for 2024, featuring pricing, technology and wearability details including your favorite players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and many more.
HoopsHype lists the Top 25 NBA players who never won the MVP award.
Over the past 15 seasons, four players have won a majority of the MVP awards: LeBron James (four), Stephen Curry (twice), Giannis Antetokounmpo (twice), and Nikola Jokic (twice).
Joel Embiid, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and Derrick Rose were among the few to crack that list amid the dominance of the big four listed above and win their only MVP award in that span.
So who are some of the NBA’s greatest players of all time who weren’t able to win an MVP and break through their era of dominant players?
The G League Ignite program had no trouble signing top prospects, but how exactly those prospects have done since getting to the NBA is another topic entirely.
Did going the G League Ignite route help those players get to the next level, or set them up for immediate NBA success? That matter is up for debate, as you will see below.
Media members have been voting for NBA player awards for a long time. This task carries significant weight, as voting for one player over another can impact multi-million dollar contracts. Beginning in 2014, the NBA has made these media votes …
Media members have been voting for NBA player awards for a long time. This task carries significant weight, as voting for one player over another can impact multi-million dollar contracts. Beginning in 2014, the NBA has made these media votes public. Per our research, only 15 individuals have participated in the voting process every year since then.
We analyzed these prominent media figures and tallied the total points they awarded to players in the Most Valuable Player voting over the past decade. You will see substantial discrepancies:
