{"id":71001,"date":"2024-03-28T17:49:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T21:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=71001"},"modified":"2024-03-28T17:49:25","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T21:49:25","slug":"lakers-dangelo-russell-reveals-extent-lebron-james-influence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/28\/lakers-dangelo-russell-reveals-extent-lebron-james-influence\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Lottery Pick Reveals Extent of LeBron James\u2019 Influence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles Lakers guard D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/a>\u2019s career arc has been memorable.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelo Russell Reveals Extent of LeBron James\u2019 Influence<\/h2>\n

Drafted second overall out of Ohio State, Russell became one of Hall of Fame wing <\/span>Kobe Bryant<\/a>\u2019s sidekicks at 19. Bryant, then 37, had shifted to small forward as he relied more on his strength and technical mastery than explosiveness to dominate. It was also his retirement tour season, the wear and tear of five title runs<\/a> finally taking their toll.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russell would only last a year longer in L.A., traded once he lost his teammates\u2019 trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Second Time\u2019s the Charm<\/h3>\n

After his move to the Brooklyn Nets, Russell began to come into his own as a player. He earned his first All-Star selection in his second season with the team but found himself traded again. With the Nets smelling blood in the water, they made a deal for disgruntled Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant<\/a>. Russell\u2019s subpar play in the 2019 NBA Playoffs likely made the decision easier.<\/p>\n

After 33 games with the Warriors, Golden State traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves, needing a wing who could offer the two-way impact Durant provided. Russell\u2019s time with the Timberwolves lasted a bit longer. However, they also felt they needed a different dynamic than he provided. In trading Russell to the point guard-hungry Lakers, the Timberwolves acquired Mike Conley<\/a>, their desired floor general<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now back in L.A., Russell is fighting trade rumors left and right. His best weapon during these battles is a fireworks display, lighting up the scoreboard in a way the Lakers desperately need. In being traded back to L.A., he\u2019s also able to get the ear of longtime idol LeBron James<\/a>.<\/p>\n

James is one of the best role models that the league has seen. Many people think of him as a businessman if not a basketball player. But before all else, he\u2019s a family man who seeks to represent himself and his bloodline in the best way possible.<\/p>\n

Learning from LeBron<\/h3>\n

In an interview with HoopsHype\u2019s Michael Scotto, Russell revealed the extent of James\u2019 influence on him during his second stint<\/a> with the Lakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played with Kobe on his way out,\u201d Russell begins, \u201cand (now) I\u2019m playing with LeBron, who I still think is at the tip of his prime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot his prime, but you get better the older you get in some cases. I feel like he\u2019s still getting better in the sense of having to do more with less athleticism, obviously. It shows every aspect of his game, his shooting and post game.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cGrowing up a fan of LeBron,\u201d Russell says, \u201cI was always searching for wisdom from him, asking him questions and trying to pick his brain on how I could be better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to the basketball side of things, it\u2019s an adjustment,\u201d the 28-year-old explains. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to learn how to play next to one of the greatest of all time. As far as what I\u2019ve learned\u2026 those small little windows where there\u2019s nothing else going on (are) when I feel like I benefit the most from him. I get to hear about how he did what he was thinking and his approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The influence is beginning to rub off on Russell, who says: \u201cIt\u2019s almost like you go through your daily routine and ask, \u201cWhat would LeBron do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have your stuff in order off the floor, it allows you to have this attack mode and mentality on the floor, knowing that everything else is taken care of.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYou know he\u2019s going to take the high road,\u201d Russell explains, \u201cand do the best that you can do with whatever he\u2019s doing. He\u2019s a complete role model all around.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this last tidbit that\u2019s perhaps the most crucial when it comes to Russell.<\/p>\n

The combo guard recently took a shot at a former teammate<\/a> in the media. The standalone comments received a lot of attention because of the timing. However, Russell had expressed his displeasure with his role with the Lakers for months. The comments started to be unseemly for the microwave scorer. As he gets older, he\u2019ll learn to react to adversity better. Nonetheless, it shows Russell still has a bit of immaturity to grow out of.<\/p>\n

James doesn\u2019t have a spotless record with how he\u2019s represented himself. After losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals, he unleashed a classist and elitist tirade<\/a>. It was unbecoming of him as a leader and role model and of his humble beginnings. His emotions got the best of him.<\/p>\n

However, learning is an ongoing process. Just as Russell is learning, James learns. He\u2019s just further along than Russell.<\/p>\n

Time, as they say, is the best teacher.<\/p>\n

Kobe Bryant\u2019s Wisdom<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe language [Kobe] spoke was foreign to me at that time,\u201d Russell says of his first stint with the Lakers. \u201cI couldn\u2019t relate to a lot of stuff that he was saying, but he would always talk to me about it as if I knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe older I got,\u201d Russell muses, \u201cthe stuff would click, and I\u2019d say, \u201cDang, I remember him saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles Lakers guard D\u2019Angelo Russell\u2019s career arc has been memorable. D\u2019Angelo Russell Reveals Extent of LeBron James\u2019 Influence Drafted second overall out of Ohio State, Russell became one of Hall of Fame wing Kobe Bryant\u2019s sidekicks at 19. Bryant, then 37, had shifted to small forward as he relied more on his strength and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":71012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1608,62,3],"tags":[307,551,38,1382],"class_list":["post-71001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-dangelo-russell","tag-kobe-bryant","tag-lebron-james","tag-nba-trade"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}