The Los Angeles Lakers are gearing up for a chance to cement themselves in NBA history as the first ever winners of the In-Season Tournament and the NBA Cup. In the team’s undefeated tournament run thus far, point guard D’Angelo Russell has been an instrumental piece, a testament to his long and winding journey in the league since being drafted by the Lakers back in 2015.
He has started in all six Lakers victories during the In-Season Tournament and has put up some of his best performances of the season in wins over the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz. So closing that out with the first ever In-Season Tournament championship would have huge value for Russell both as an individual and as a member of the Lakers.
Russell first focused on what the tournament means for the fans in response to LeBron James calling NBA commissioner Adam Silver a genius for the inception of the In-Season Tournament.
“I think it’s huge. I think it’s huge,” Russell said. “Like Bron said, for Adam to be able to put the situation in the season like that and not lose a step, is good for the game. And obviously any city that’s playing in Play-In games, you can be in Detroit or wherever, those fans are going to come out. So, I think it’s huge for the game. It’s huge for the fans in those cities that may not ever get a playoff — may not ever be able to see the playoffs, so I think it’s huge.
“I think it’s a big deal, too. I think a lot of teams over sports will try to incorporate something like this just to kind of widen the variety of viewers, raising the level of regular-season viewers and things of all that. So, what he said was right. He’s a genius for sure.”
When asked about what the win could mean for his personal legacy, Russell mentioned the journey he’s been on and what winning for the Lakers specifically does for him.
“I think it’s a big deal just to be part of the legacy,” Russell said. “I think that would make my legacy a little underrated for the outside looking in. But for my family, my fans, my friends, they know what I’ve been through here and they know who I’ve crossed paths with, and to be able to stand next to LeBron and AD and guys like that and win a championship, I don’t know if it will go unnoticed to a lot of people but for me it will be a huge deal. I could officially say that I would be a diehard Laker fan at that point, right. It’s a big deal.”
To see Russell back with the Lakers and finding success as the starting point guard is a huge victory for him, for the organization and for the fans.
After a difficult journey that saw him bounce from team to team trying to find a permanent landing spot, it seems he’s finally found the right role for him with the team that drafted him eight years ago.
Anthony Davis expecting home games for In-Season Tournament
With the semifinals and finals of the In-Season Tournament taking place in Las Vegas, Lakers star Anthony Davis was right to expect that those games would look closer to Lakers home games than anything else.
“Yeah, Laker fans travel well anyway wherever we go. We feel like wherever we go, it’s a home game for us,” Davis said.
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