D’Angelo Russell Praised by Teammates

D’Angelo Russell’s first season in the NBA was hectic to say the least. The second overall pick in the 2015 draft dealt with inconsistent play, a hostile head coach Byron Scott, and most notably an incident towards the end of the year when a video he recorded of Nick Young talking about cheating on his fiancee was leaked on the internet.

Russell rebounded nicely in the offseason, however, from an excellent summer league performance to an already-strong bond with new head coach Luke Walton to routine workouts with fellow young Lakers players.

The sophomore point guard looks much more comfortable heading into this season, and his teammates both old and new have taken notice. Several Lakers venterans complemented Russell during Lakers Media Day on Monday and predicted big things for him in the near future.

Luol Deng:

Lou Williams:

 

Timofey Mozgov (speaking not only about Russell but about the other young Lakers as well):

Russell returned the good vibes, videobombing the big man’s interview with Spectrum SportsNet:

 

As for Young, who remarkably finds himself still on the team despite his very public spat with Russell, he had this to say to reporters when asked if he still had a grudge against his young teammate:

Lakers head coach Luke Walton also assured reporters that he hadn’t seen any dispute between Young and Russell so far:

 

The praise for Russell, combined with his eagerness to get to work with his new coaching staff, bodes very well for his second year in the NBA. Maybe he is the next great Lakers star after all.

Author: Austin Green

Austin is a native Angelino and 3rd-generation Lakers fan who has a passion for writing. He is pursuing his journalism degree at Biola University in Southern California and currently works as sports editor at The Chimes, Biola's student newspaper.

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