Los Angeles Lakers star D’Angelo Russell came crashing back down to earth on Sunday with a modest 13-point performance in a huge win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This was after the former All-Star went off for a season-high 44 points in a 123-122 victory against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
Russell went 9-of-12 from distance against the Bucks, which now has the 6-foot-3 point guard on the brink of breaking a long-standing Lakers franchise record.
D’Angelo Russell Chasing Los Angeles Lakers Franchise 3-Point Record
At the moment, one-time All-Star combo guard Nick Van Excel holds the all-time Lakers record for the most 3-pointers in a single season. It was during the 1993-94 campaign that the 6-foot-1 guard knocked down 183 triples throughout the year.
Right now, though, Russell is on pace to break that record. The 28-year-old currently has 173 treys to his name with 16 games still remaining in the regular season.
Unless Russell suddenly gets into a shooting funk (he’s averaging 2.8 triples per game on a 42.4-percent clip), he should be able to smash that long-standing record within the next few games.
“It’d be a huge honor to just kind of put my name into that category,” Russell said, via Edwin Garcia of Silver Screen & Roll. “But me, I feel like if I would never left, I would have (already) did something like that. So, confidently, I keep that in the back of my mind. At the same time, still trying to shatter that record, not just get that record.”
Based on his statement above, it is clear that Russell is still playing with a chip on his shoulder. The Lakers trading him to the Brooklyn Nets after his sophomore season is something that the veteran still carries to this day.
It would only be poetic for DLo to make history in the first full season of his second stint in Hollywood. It would even be more meaningful if he’s able to help the Lakers lift the title again soon.
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