Los Angeles Lakers 2015 SG - DeAngelo Russell (2015 Unanimous 1st Team All-American, 2019 NBA All-Star)

D’ANGELO RUSSELL

• Team: Los Angeles Lakers
• Year: Nine
• Stats: 17.9 PPG, 46.4 FG%, 39 3FG%, 6.2 APG

D-Lo played the first 54 games of his ninth NBA season with Minnesota, where he averaged nearly 18 points and more than six assists per game as a fourth-year member of the Timberwolves. Before the trade deadline, Russell was dealt back to the Los Angeles Lakers, who initially drafted him out of Ohio State as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. Russell played only three games with LeBron James and company prior to the All-Star break, but helped lead LA to wins in two of those contests.

In his first game back at Staples Center Crypto.com Arena, Russell dropped 21 points and seven dimes in an 18-point win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. The Lakers will need a lot more where that came from in order to climb back into playoff contention, though, as they currently sit in 13th place in the West.

 

Lakers insider explains why he’s ‘concerned’ with D’Angelo Russell’s injury: https://t.co/596HGg50Ve

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) March 5, 2023

 

Report: D’Angelo Russell wants to be point guard of future for Lakers https://t.co/OPcWCehQ8f

— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) March 14, 2023

 

D’Angelo Russell goes viral for promoting unauthorized drink at press conference https://t.co/gynri4CTxJ

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 23, 2023

 

D'Angelo Russell (17 PTS) comes up big in the Game 4 win for the @Lakers!

His 3 straight threes in Q4 were crucial as the Lakers secured a 3-1 series lead.

📺 Game 5 | Wednesday, 7:30pm/et | TNT pic.twitter.com/iMax64kwkJ

— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2023

 

ICE IN HIS VEINS 🧊

D’Angelo Russell comes up huge to lead the Lakers to Round 2!

31 PTS | 5-9 3PM pic.twitter.com/fEuOxjjKaN

— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2023

 

THE D'LO SHOW 🥶

He's got 13 of the Lakers' 17 points to start the first. pic.twitter.com/W32xH4GDpB

— ESPN (@espn) May 7, 2023

 

D’Angelo Russell helps Lakers clinch spot in Western Conference Finals
Former Ohio State one-and-done standout D’Angelo Russell helped the Los Angeles Lakers book their ticket to the Western Conference Finals Friday night. Russell was the Lakers’ third-leading scorer in a 122-101, series-clinching win over the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

Russell scored 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, in addition to chipping in two rebounds, one assist and one steal. He averaged 14.7 points per contest in the six-game series, but that figure is weighed down by a four-point outing in Game 4.

Russell bounced back to score 15-plus points in the final two games of the series. His signature game of this year’s playoffs came in the Lakers’ closeout game versus the Memphis Grizzlies. He fueled the Lakers’ dominant Game 6 victory over Memphis with a team-high 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting. It was a performance that saw him convert 5-of-9 triples.

Russell was part of Los Angeles’ season-changing trade deadline haul that also included Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Davon Reed and Mo Bamba. In the process, general manger Rob Pelinka shipped out Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones, Thomas Bryant and Patrick Beverley.

The Lakers are 18-9 since the trade deadline. They started the season 2-10 and were 11th in the Western Conference standings with 11 regular season games to go.

Russell maintained his scoring average of 17-plus points after being traded away from the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Russell has played for four NBA teams, but this season marks his reunion with the Lakers, who took him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 Draft.

The 6-foot-4 point guard earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten honors for his 2014-15 season at Ohio State, during which he piled up 675 points, the most ever by a Buckeyes freshman. He also made 95 shots from beyond the arc that season, 35 more than any other Ohio State freshman has netted in their first year in Columbus.

 

D’Angelo Russell has had an interesting, well-traveled, and sometimes frustrating NBA career. But when DLo gets to cooking, the former Buckeye is a joy to watch.

Now deep into the 2023 NBA Playoffs, can he play to his potential when it matters most? https://t.co/AtUKS1NmIJ

— Land-Grant Holy Land (@Landgrant33) May 16, 2023

 

D'Angelo Russell this series:

Game 1: 8 Points, 4/11 FGM, 0/3 3PM
Game 2: 10 Points, 3/8 FGM, 1/5 3PM
Game 3: 3 Points, 1/8 FGM, 1/6 3PM pic.twitter.com/wSqc17RinH

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 21, 2023

 

G D’ANGELO RUSSELL

• Team: Los Angeles Lakers (43-39)
• Year: Nine
• Stats: 17.8 PPG, 46.9 FG%, 39.6 3FG%, 6.2 APG
• Postseason: Lost in conference finals (4-0, Nuggets)

The former Ohio State star guard and No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft was reunited with the team that drafted him as Russell was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Lakers before the trade deadline. After averaging nearly 18 points and more than six assists per game as a fourth-year member of the Minnesota roster, Russell’s numbers hardly dipped in LA, where he put up 17.4 points and 6.1 dimes in 17 regular-season appearances.

Russell also helped the Lakers climb from 13th place in the Western Conference at the All-Star Break to seventh place at the end of the regular season, ultimately winning their play-in game to earn a spot in the playoffs. Russell and the Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors in back-to-back series to draw a matchup with the top-seeded Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, but were swept in four games.

Russell started the first 15 games of the Lakers’ playoff run but was benched in Monday’s final game of the season, in which he scored just four points in 15 minutes. Russell averaged only 13.3 points per game in the playoffs compared to his 17.8 points per game across the regular season.