Lakers: D’Angelo Russell’s Rookie Year Compared to 5 Other Guards

Jan 7, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell (1) calls out a play during the fourth quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 118-115. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

D’Angelo Russell might be the future of the Lakers, but how does his rookie year stack up to other guards’?

Many of the hope for the future of the Los Angeles Lakers are tied into rookie guard D’Angelo Russell. However, the 19-year-old Ohio State product has had quite a tumultuous rookie season from his inconsistent performance to his trials with Byron Scott regarding his role in the rotation.

Russell’s rookie season has largely been infuriating to watch for fans as he’s shown flashes of true brilliance at such a young age and the confidence and willingness to lead at times. However, he’s also not been trusted by Scott to finish games and, quite infamously at this point, has been out of the starting lineup for a time now in favor of Lou Williams getting the nod alongside Jordan Clarkson.

Because of all the chaos in Los Angeles this season, particularly surrounding Russell, his rookie season has been hard to gauge by itself. He’s a part of one of the worst teams in the history of the franchise and, subsequently, it’s near impossible to just look at his performance alone and see how effective he’s been.

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Perhaps a better way to go about assessing Russell’s rookie year is to compare what he’s done with the Lakers this season to other contemporary guards and comparable players in terms of size and skill-set coming out of college. While it’s still not totally conclusive, it should paint a clearer picture as to what Russell has done this season and what that could mean as his situation, the coaching, and the Lakers as a whole grow and improve around him.

For reference throughout these comparisons, we’re going to look at per-36 minutes averages during the rookie seasons of the players involved to account for varying roles and playing time. Here’s what Russell’s numbers look like to this point in the season:

Russell’s Per-36 Minutes Averages: 16.1 points, 4.4 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 3.3 turnovers, 41.7 FG%, 32.6 3P%

We’ll be looking at Russell in comparison to Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, Anfernee Hardaway, and James Harden. Hopefully by the end of it, there will be a better grasp on what the Lakers have in Russell and what can be expected from him moving forward.

Note: All stats were found via Basketball-Reference and the Player Comparison Finder

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