Los Angeles Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell has made significant progress in his relationship with LeBron James.
The Lakers star encouraged Russell during a crucial timeout to take the shot that won the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, March 8, which marked his 44-point performance.
The unbelievable situation was unthinkable just a few months ago when James, along with co-captain Anthony Davis, supported Darvin Ham’s decision to move Russell to the bench in December, ESPN reported on January 9.
Four days after the ESPN report, Russell returned to the starting lineup and never looked back.
Since reclaiming his starting backcourt position on January 13, Russell has been averaging 22.8 points, 6.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 45.8% from beyond the arc on an impressive 8.6 attempts per game.
Russell has emerged as a better player after being demoted and has become the third star the Lakers were desperately seeking at the trade deadline.
James then praised Russell for his exceptional effort in his absence, which helped the Lakers secure the ninth seed in the West.
LeBron James is D’Angelo Russell’s Childhood Idol
Before James reached the 40,000-point milestone last week, Russell revealed that the Lakers superstar was his childhood idol.
“He’s the first person I saw play in the NBA, to be honest,” Russell told reporters after James scored 31 points, leading them to a 134-131 overtime win against the Washington Wizards on February 29.
Russell shared that his father took him to his first NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and James’ former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers when he was a kid.
“I was a big LeBron fan,” Russell said, “and he did that signature dunk and I remember crying being at the game as a fan and watching him do that dunk that he always did on the commercials and all that.”
It was at that moment of the unexplainable joy of watching his hoops idol up close that he saw his future.
“Seeing him do it, I remember crying vividly and that was when I was like ‘This is where I want to be.’ So he’s inspired me without even knowing it,” Russell said.
“He’s continuing to inspire the youth, his teammates. But the youth as a whole everybody kind of looks up to a guy like him the way he paves the way for us on and off the floor. [He’s] just a true role model so I’m not surprised by anything he’s doing. I won’t be surprised by anything he’s continuing to do and the sky is really the limit for him and what he’s done for this game.”
It came full circle when James encouraged Russell to make the game-winning shot.
‘I Want All the Smoke’
Russell’s game-winner marked his season-high 44-point performance with his idol, the superstar James, out with a left ankle injury.
Russell, who had been the subject of constant trade rumors, expressed his pent-up emotions during his postgame press conference.
“Public humiliation has done nothing but shape me into the determined player that you all see today,” Russell told reporters. “I never lack confidence. I never fear confrontation. I want to engage with high IQ players and have discussions. I am confident in what I bring to the basketball game, so wherever I go, I am confident.”
