Los Angeles Lakers point guard D'Angelo Russell has experienced as challenging an offseason as any NBA player. When he hasn't been at the heart of incessant trade rumors, he's been written off as the weak link in Los Angeles.
Despite what's being said about him, Russell seems to think that the 2023-24 season was a generally successful experience for himself and the team.
Los Angeles finished the 2023-24 regular season at 47-35, but caught fire late and seemed to be on pace for a deep postseason run. Unfortunately, despite going 23-10 and ranking No. 3 in the NBA in offensive rating after February 1, the Lakers lost in the first round to the rival Denver Nuggets.
In an interview on the Run Your Race podcast, Russell spoke candidly about the experience of playing with LeBron James and finding an explosive brand of chemistry in 2023-24.
“Coming here last year , when I came, we clicked right away and I was like, ‘Dang, this is not what I expected.’ We were playing at a high level. Hot-potatoed the ball, backdoor, no look lob. It was just like, ‘That’s basketball.’ And we were on the same page and we had no time to get there. We just did it. And then we went through adversity the first time against Denver and that was when teams were trapping him, blitzing me, denying this, and it was like we haven’t seen that all year and we get swept.
Then we go into this year, we had time to prep just like our core guys that we had. We weren’t healthy, but we had a good core from last year and we were playing at such a high level again and in the midst of it, I’m like ‘We’re not winning, we’re trying to get this game, we’re trying to do this, we’re trying to win” but now looking back I’m like ‘Dang, bro. I was really hooping at a high level with this dude that like dominates the game.’”
It seems as though Russell isn't necessarily discarding the importance of winning, but instead reflecting on how well he was playing alongside James—and perhaps looking ahead to 2024-25.
D'Angelo Russell: "I was really hooping at a high level with ."
There's no denying how well Russell played during the 2023-24 regular season. He set the single-season franchise record for three-point field goals converted with 226, and averaged an impressive 18.0 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.0 three-point field goals made per game on .456/.415/.828 shooting.
For perspective: The only other players in the NBA to average at least 18.0 points, 6.0 assists, and 3.0 three-point field goals made were Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard, Tyrese Maxey, and Donovan Mitchell.
From that vantage point, it's hard to disagree with Russell that he was playing at a high level. He ranked among the most productive players in the NBA, and the only players to whom his specific brand of statistical output compared were All-Stars.
The reason so many are pushing back on Russell as a long-term piece of the puzzle, however, is the simple fact that he struggled mightily in the postseason.
Russell finished the 2024 NBA Playoffs averaging 14.2 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.8 three-point field goals made on .384/.318/.500 shooting. It was a sharp decline from the elite efficiency with which he produced during the regular season, let alone the volume the Lakers had become accustomed to relying on.
Russell shot 6-of-20 from the field and 1-of-9 from the field in Game 1, had a historically horrid 0-of-7 performance in Game 3, and shot 2-of-10 from distance in the decisive Game 5.
Russell provided 23 points and six assists on 7-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc in Game 2, and tallied 21 points during the win in Game 4. The inconsistency proved disastrous for a Lakers team that led every game in the series at halftime, however, and the narrative has followed that course.
Perhaps Russell's optimism will be proven as justified during the 2024-25 season, but the only way to silence the critics will be to thrive in the playoffs.