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
Next: DAR vs Westbrook
D’Angelo Russell vs. Russell Westbrook
Westbrook’s Per-36 Minutes Averages: 16.9 points, 5.9 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 3.7 turnovers, 39.8 percent FG%, 27.1 percent 3P%
Oklahoma City Thunder superstar point guard Russell Westbrook was a rookie in the 2008-09 season as he joined the young core of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green on the Thunder roster. With that talent around him, Westbrook immediately plunged into a large role that saw him play 32.5 minutes per game, 5.5 more minutes per game than D’Angelo Russell has this season in Los Angeles.
In terms of per-36-minute stats, though, Westbrook and Russell are actually quite similar. Westbrook put up 16.9 points 5.9 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 3.7 turnovers per 36 minutes as a rookie. By comparison, Russell has averaged 16.1 points, 4.4 assists, 4.8 boards, 1.5 steals, and 3.3 turnovers per 36 minutes through his first 50 NBA games. Worth noting is that Russell has actually been more efficient overall, hitting 1.9 percent more of his shots and 5.5 percent more of his three-point attempts than Westbrook did as a rookie.
Though Westbrook’s counting statistics may be a bit better than Russell’s, two things that have to be noted are the talent around Westbrook in OKC in comparison to the hodge-podge in LA this year and the fact that Westbrook was also a year older than Russell is when he entered the league.
Obviously the two players are quite different as there isn’t as much violent action from Russell as Westbrook routinely shows on both ends of the floor. However, it’s important to see that even superstar guards in favorable situations in regards to young talent around them can still have a ton of growth left ahead of them.
Next: DAR vs Kyrie
D’Angelo Russell vs. Kyrie Irving
Irving’s Per-36 Minutes Averages: 21.8 points, 6.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 3.7 turnovers, 46.9 FG%, 39.9 3P%
Kyrie Irving is the most interesting comparison for Russell on this list for a couple of reasons. For one, Irving is the only player we’ll be looking at who also entered the league at just 19 years old. Also worth noting is the fact that Byron Scott was the head coach for both Kyrie and D’Angelo in their rookie seasons (though obviously with different teams).
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Looking at the production, Irving had much more free reign over the lowly Cavs in his rookie season that Russell does with the Lakers. Irving played only 51 games on the season due to injuries during the lockout-shortened season, but he averaged 3.5 more minutes per game than Russell and started all 51 of his appearances.
Even more important is Kyrie’s usage as he was the focal-point of the Cavs offense even as a rookie. Where Russell has a usage rate of 23.6 this season for the Lakers, Irving had an absurd 28.7 percent usage rate under Scott in Cleveland.
Though the two players are both capable scoring guards, they aren’t really similar in terms of style and build. When compared to one another, though, it’s honestly just infuriating for Lakers fans. Scott had total faith in Irving as 19-year-old on a bad team to run the show while he refuses to consistently give Russell the same opportunities. Lets’ move on before we get anymore frustrated about that.
Next: DAR vs CP3
D’Angelo Russell vs. Chris Paul
Paul’s Per-36 Minutes Averages: 16.1 points, 7.8 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 2.3 turnovers, 43 FG%, 28.2 3P%
Yet another player who is not much of a comparison in terms of size or style but interesting to look at in terms of prowess and the fact that Byron Scott was his head coach as a rookie is Chris Paul. Paul and Scott were together with the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets in the 2005-06 season, but the situation was far different than the one with the Lakers right now.
While CP3 and Russell have the same points-per-36 minutes averages in their respective rookie campaigns, the number that jumps out is the assist numbers where Paul has the edge by 3.4 per 36 minutes. Much like with Irving, though, that number being where it is for Paul should be infuriating for Lakers fans because of the reason that CP3 was able to have so much success as a facilitator.
When Russell has been on the floor, he’s been in a lose-lose situation for the most part. He’s either been asked to run pick-and-rolls with players like Roy Hibbert or others who are less effective than the likes of Julius Randle or Tarik Black or such situations or he’s been asked to work with isolation-happy perimeter players like Lou Williams and Nick Young who stop the ball and don’t allow Russell the full opportunity to facilitate.
That stands in stark contrast to Paul with the Hornets under Byron where CP3 and David West worked tirelessly in the pick-and-roll as the team’s two best offensive weapons. Scott put the rookie version of Paul in the best opportunity to succeed, which makes it all the more befuddling as to why he handles Russell in the manner that he does on this current Lakers team—especially given the 19-year-old’s passing acumen.
Next: DAR vs Penny
D’Angelo Russell vs. Penny Hardaway
Hardaway’s Per-36 Minutes Averages: 15.7 points, 6.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 3.5 turnovers, 46.6 FG%, 26.7 3P%
One of the more prevalent pre-draft comparisons for Russell, largely due to his size and positioning as a sort of hybrid guard, was former Orlando Magic stud Penny Hardaway. While Penny may have been a bit bigger, both players both boasted tremendous versatility on offense and imposing size at the position coming into the NBA.
Blue Man Hoop
In terms of overall efficiency and in terms of assist numbers, Hardaway was more productive than Russell has to this point. However, it’s also worth noting that Penny was 22 years old coming into the NBA and, oh yeah, also had the advantage of playing alongside one of the most impressive big men in the history of the NBA in Shaquille O’Neal.
When it comes down to it, the presence of Shaq alongside Hardaway makes comparisons between he and Russell a bit hard to make. Though there is young talent around the Lakers rookie in regards to Randle, Larry Nance Jr., and even Jordan Clarkson, he doesn’t have a frontcourt counterpart that’s a transcendent talent in the way that Shaq was.
However, it’s impressive for Russell that, even with less assistance around him, he’s been able to produced similarly to Penny. Despite not having anyone near the level of talent as Shaq on the Lakers with him and despite not starting every contest the way that Hardaway did, D’Angelo has still managed to find production in his rookie season that’s comparable to a player he was always going to be compared to.
Next: DAR vs Harden
D’Angelo Russell vs. James Harden
Harden’s Per-36 Minutes Averages: 15.6 points, 2.8 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 2.2 turnovers, 40.3 FG%, 37.5 3P%
One of the more interesting comparisons to Russell coming into the draft and throughout this season considering his role coming off of the bench for the Lakers is current Houston Rockets All-Star and former Oklahoma City Thunder sixth man James Harden. Coming out of Arizona State, Harden was looked at as a lethal scorer with great physical gifts, but his upside beyond being that was always put into question.
We all know what Harden has developed into now as an offensive talent and—when he feels like trying—in terms of his potential as a defensive player. As a rookie in OKC alongside a still-developing Westbrook and Durant, though, Harden wasn’t asked to dominate the ball like he does in Houston and wasn’t asked to carry the load hardly at all. Rather, he was meant to be a spark off of the bench with his offensive talents.
While Byron’s intentions for Russell coming off of the bench are much less apparent than they were for Harden in OKC, the roles that they play/played are quite similar. Harden was asked to play with players who were always going to be the primary option ahead of him and, whether it’s the smart decision or not, Russell finds himself in that situation all too often when he’s on the floor for the Lakers.
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But what’s most intriguing about the comparison to Harden other than their similar roles and production in those roles is what Harden has looked like after the chains were ultimately taken off. While part of that is obviously development, it also has a lot to do with him being able to take control and unleash his full arsenal of offensive talents on opponents. Russell may not be James Harden, but there has to be optimism that he could explode like Harden once he’s set free for the Lakers.