Lakers: How Does D’Angelo Russell’s Season Compare to 2016 Rookies?

Scoring

Russell came in third in field goals made, hitting on 41 percent of his total shots on the season. The only two rookies ahead of him in terms of made field goals were Karl-Anthony Towns, who shot 54.3 percent, and Jahlil Okafor, who shot 50.8 percent.

Overall, Russell ranked No. 69 in FG’s made in the NBA this season with 392, which puts him in the top 14.5 percent in the NBA. Curry topped those rankings with 805 made field goals with No. 2 being LeBron James at 737.

Now let’s take a quick look at D’Angelo Russell’s total stats for his rookie season:

Former Lakers head coach Byron Scott was accused many times of not playing the young players more. Well, Russell played for 2,259 minutes, ranking him 74th in the NBA.

As far as rookies go, D’Angelo played more than 22 of his fellow freshman, coming in at No. 2. The only rookie who played more minutes than Russell was Karl-Anthony Towns, who played for 2,626 minutes.

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Though it may not have been as much as some fans wanted, Russell was given a huge chance this season to show how valuable he is to the Lakers and he stepped up to the plate. Ranking in the top three among his peers in multiple key stats means he was given time to develop and he performed like a No. 2 pick should play.