During the NBA offseason, many players go back home to take a step back and decompress from the grind of regular and postseason play. Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, in particular, has returned to his birthplace of Louisville, Kentucky to host his own basketball camp.
“Camp DLo” was a three-day camp that hosted boys and girls from third through 12th grade and prior to the start of the camp, special guests were being announced on the “campdangelorussell” Instagram page. Some of the guests included Indiana Pacers forward Obi Topin and Houston Rockets Jae’Sean Tate.
But, there was one more name and that was Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker, also longtime friend of Russell. Kent Spencer of WHAS talked to Booker about his relationship with Russell and why he volunteered to show up at his camp:
“[We’ve known each other] since the seventh or eighth grade. Camps, camp ball, we used to trade out our gear, helped each other out and always kept in contact. So it’s a relationship that is going to be forever… We have been going at it for a very long time.”
The two guards were in the same 2015 draft class and would play together in the Rising Stars game that same year. Both Booker and Russell have came a long way and evolved in their respective careers, both being dynamic scorers on and off the ball.
Booker is the majority owner and ambassador of Coco5, a sports drink company that Russell is also sponsored by, notably and unsuccessfully trying to sneak it into postgame press conferences to promote it during last year’s playoffs. These two have accomplished a lot, but Russell talked about what it meant for Booker to show up to his camp:
“I mean, I don’t cry a lot, but this is something that I cry about. Just having the support from guys that I’ve crossed paths with over the years and them supporting me. This is the biggest thing you can do for me by showing up to my camp.”
Russell’s camp finished on June 30 and it seems that the public reception to this camp was phenomenal with Booker and company drawing a packed house to see the pickup games between the two guards. Now, both can focus on preparing and ramping up for the 2023-24 season.
The Lakers and Phoenix Suns have been deemed two of the winners of this summer’s free agency with both seeking to make a push to win a championship next year, thus setting up the potential of seeing Russell and Booker matchup in the playoffs if their paths cross.
Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell re-signs on two-year contract
Russell made his return back to the Lakers at the trade deadline in a three-team deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz. On an expiring deal, he had some up and down performances, but especially struggled in the Western Conference Finals.
However, the objective of the Lakers was to retain their core players in free agency and Russell was one of them. The two sides would agree on a two-year, $37 million contract, paving the way to return likely as the starting point guard.
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