Following his freshman season at Ohio State, D’Angelo Russell announced his intention to enter the 2015 NBA Draft and is expected to be among the top five players taken on June 25. Along with letting it be known he’ll be headed to the NBA, Russell flew out to Los Angeles to accept the Jerry West Award as the first-ever winner of the award as the best shooting guard in the country.
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Cassy Athena caught up with Russell for her latest episode of “Thru The Lens.” Russell talked about his time in Los Angeles from coaching a special Olympics basketball team with Baylor’s Nina Davis to players he’s modeled his game after.
Russell said the following about the players he’s admired while developing his game, via Athena:
“First, I would say Manu Ginobili. Just his passing ability and his thought process throughout every game.
“In this newer age, Steph Curry. Curry is like an icon to me. I look up to him. Everything he does is right.”
With Russell expected to be selected somewhere in the top five picks of the upcoming draft, there’s a very good chance the 6’5″ guard is wearing purple and gold next season. The Los Angeles Lakers will have a high lottery pick in the draft if the pick doesn’t fall out of the top five.
The Lakers have a 17.2 percent chance of losing the pick during the NBA Draft Lottery on May 19, but if able to retain the pick, rather than sending it to the Philadelphia 76ers, Russell might be there for the taking.
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