Getty D'Angelo Russell #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles up court during the second half of a game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Los Angeles Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell has come a long way in his relationship with LeBron James.
The Lakers superstar empowered Russell during the decisive Lakers timeout to take the eventual game-winning floater against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, March 8, that punctuated his 44-point explosion.
The surreal scene was unimaginable just a few months ago when James, along with co-captain Anthony Davis, gave Darvin Ham their blessings when the coach moved 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 regaining his starting backcourt spot on January 13, Russell is averaging 22.8 points, 6.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 45.8% from deep on a robust 8.6 attempts per game.
Russell has emerged from the demotion a better player and providing the third star the Lakers were desperately looking for at the trade deadline.
James went on to praise Russell for his heroic effort in his absence that pushed the Lakers back to ninth seed in the West.
YEAAAAHHHH 9LO!!! @Dloading 😤😤😤😤😤😤😤
LeBron James is D’Angelo Russell’s Childhood Idol
Before James reached the 40,000-point milestone last week, Russell revealed 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, carrying them down the stretch 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 urged Russell to make the game-winning shot.
‘I Want All the Smoke’
Russell’s game-winner punctuated his season-high 44-point effort with his idol, their superstar, James, out with a left ankle injury.
Russell, who became a constant subject of trade rumors, let out his pent-up emotions during his postgame presser.
“Public humiliation has done nothing but mold me into the killer that you all see today,” Russell told reporters. “I never lack confidence. I never fear confrontation. I want all the smoke. Let’s, high IQ players, let’s get in the room and talk about it. I just feel confident in what I bring to the basketball game, so whatever room I walk in, I’m confident.”