Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell On Kobe Bryant, LeBron James: They Gave Me Detailed Answers That Allowed Me To Get Better

Russell’s rookie season was Bryant’s final campaign in the NBA.

Meanwhile, Russell got traded back to the Lakers last season, allowing him to play with his favorite childhood player, LeBron. 

“I played with Kobe on his way out, and I’m playing with LeBron, who I still think is at the tip of his prime,” Russell said. “Not his prime, but you get better the older you get in some cases. I feel like he’s 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. I got Kobe on the way out. The language he spoke was foreign to me at that time. I couldn’t relate to a lot of stuff that he was saying, but he would always talk to me about it as if I knew. The older I got, the stuff would click, and I’d say, ‘Dang, I remember him saying that.’

“Growing up a fan of LeBron, I was always searching for wisdom from him, asking him questions and trying to pick his brain on how I could be better. That’s how I was with Kobe. I wasn’t shy to ask questions ever. I always gravitated towards the ones people were scared to ask those questions. They both gave me very detailed orientated answers that allowed me to get better. When I was here earlier, we weren’t winning games. Now I’m here playing with LeBron, and we’re trying to win games. That’s a completely different thing on its own.”

The Lakers drafted Russell with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Russell played two seasons in LA before getting traded to the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2017.

He’s also played for the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Bryant and LeBron are two of the greatest players in NBA history. Russell is pretty lucky that he’s played with both legends.