- D’Angelo Russell was selected by the Lakers as the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and played alongside Kobe Bryant
- He later returned to LA this February and played with LeBron James
- Russell recently signed a two-year, $37 million deal with LA
Los Angeles Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell explained the difference between the Lakers unit under Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
Speaking on Patrick Beverley’s podcast, Russell was asked about his thoughts on playing with Kobe and James, and their respective runs with the team.
[Starts 38:56 onwards]
“Let me go from an aura perspective. LeBron’s more involved with everybody, with everything. On the bus, he’s social… on the plane he’s social. When I was with Kobe, I sat next to him on the plane and we sat on one of the back seats and I watched him, studied him and he never talks. He’s really to himself and at the time he was writing the movies and the books, he was directing and all of the time so he was locked in.”
He further added:
“Kobe, I never seen anything like that honestly. Just being when he walked around… you know everyone’s talking in a room and when you walk by, it’s just quiet? He had that about him.”
Having followed Kobe’s journey in the NBA, and from the various recollections by journalists about how the Black Mamba was as a persona, it’s not hard to imagine what Russell says. You could imagine Kobe walking into the locker room and its focus up from every player.
Russell’s thoughts also echo what former Laker Dwight Howard said about Kobe and LeBron’s leadership styles in the locker room. While the PG’s perspective might not include leadership, it speaks volumes about how the two superstars interact with the team.
D’Angelo Russell’s First Stint With The Lakers Wasn’t Exactly Flowery
D’Angelo Russell was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers as the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, and in his first season averaged 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 80 games. The second season was marginally better, as he logged 15.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.
But it was some off-court drama that saw him eventually shipped in 2017. Former Laker Magic Johnson revealed the reason behind the team trading Russell as it had to do with him infamously recording teammate Nick Young talking about cheating on his then-fiancee Iggy Azalea.
Since then, Russell has had stints with the Brooklyn Nets, a really short run with the Golden State Warriors, and then four seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He was part of the Russell Westbrook trade move ahead of this past season’s February trade deadline and reunited with the Lakers, making an instant splash with his shooting.
Russell averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists for the Lakers in 26 games, however, he fizzled out during the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets, averaging just 6.2 points per game as his team got swept.
Now, he’s inked a two-year, $37 million deal with the Lakers, and hopefully, he can keep up his consistency from the regular season.
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