Lakers: D’Angelo Russell Robbed of All-Summer League Spot

D’Angelo Russell owned Vegas for the Lakers, but was left off of the All-Summer League teams

Before they ever took the floor at the Thomas & Mack Center, there was a definite buzz about the Los Angeles Lakers heading into Las Vegas Summer League. With No. 2 overall pick from 2016, Brandon Ingram, making his first foray into professional basketball along with Ivica Zubac and those guys playing alongside the likes of Anthony Brown, Larry Nance Jr., and D’Angelo Russell, what was there to not get hyped about.

And despite their disappointing end to the run in Vegas (which it should be noted that several key players sat out either wholly or for big stretches in the concluding pair of losses), there’s no doubt that the Lakers delivered on that excitement. There’s also no doubt that the fantastic performance of Russell was the catalyst for their run as he was clearly one of the stars of Summer League in the four games he played.

Even still, when the All-Summer League teams were announced on Sunday night, Russell (or any other Lakers player for that matter) was nowhere to be found:

Although stats aren’t everything in the normal NBA constructs, they’re essentially what matters the most when it comes to Summer League—and Russell put up some tremendous numbers. In four contests, he played 30.8 minutes per game and put up 21.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, four assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting an impressive (for Summer League) 47.7 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep.

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What’s more is that you’d have to say that the 6-5 guard should’ve earned All-Summer League honors even going beyond statistical output. There weren’t many players in Vegas who looked as mature and like as much of a leader as Russell did for the Lakers.

In essence, Russell was robbed of the honor.

Sure, it’s a completely trivial and ultimately meaningless honor, but it’s one that the guard was deserving of nonetheless. He outperformed several of the guards and players that did make the All-Summer League teams and it’s a shame to see him get that kind of treatment.

Next: Lakers Summer League: Brandon Ingram Breakdown

But hey, maybe this gives him another chip on his shoulder to go out and dominate in the regular season like he did in Summer League. Time will tell.