With six 3-pointers on Monday night against the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell etched himself into franchise history by tying the single-season record for 3-pointers.
His last triple of the night on Monday was his 183rd of 2023-24, tying the record Nick Van Exel set in 1994-95, 29 years ago. Before Russell, no Laker had hit 175 threes in a season since Kobe Bryant in 2005-06.
Russell’s record comes in a season that has arguably been his best as a pro. While his points, rebounds and assists are not career bests, he is consistently playing winning basketball and having his most efficient shooting season. He’s posting career highs in field goal and 3-point percentage.
With 13 games left and only one 3 to hit before the record is solely his, Russell is aiming to make his record unreachable in Lakers history. He also spoke about how much of an honor it is to have his work be rewarded with his name in the record books.
“That’s really cool. Honestly, just to know that, to get credit for it,” Russell said. “It’s just really cool. I said I don’t want to underdo it, understate it, overdo it. I just think it’s really cool to just be a part of something like that. I think I did something like that in Brooklyn as well. Just get credit for your game and what you work to do and showcase it every night, just to get credit for something like this, it’s really cool.”
The Lakers have needed every bit of Russell’s career-best production this season. He has helped keep L.A. afloat while injuries and inconsistency dropped them to an unexpected place in the standings. His play was so strong that he went from a near guarantee to be dealt at the deadline to the Lakers opting to hold onto him. Russell now even may have leverage with a player option this offseason.
Things have gone exactly the way they needed to for Russell, and in turn has been exactly what the Lakers needed to stay alive in the postseason picture. Now, he’ll have a record that forever enshrines what he accomplished in 2023-24.
D’Angelo Russell: every game matters for Lakers
The Lakers have 13 games remaining in their schedule and sit as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference with some room to work their way up. Because of this, Russell knows that every game matters and he spoke about that urgency after the team suffered back-to-back losses over the weekend.
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