Last season saw Victor Wembanyama enter the NBA as the most hyped prospect since Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James back in 2003. And the phenom did not disappoint as he averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and a league-leading 3.6 blocks.
To no one’s surprise, Wembanyama was the obvious choice for Rookie of the Year, but he was also a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, finishing second behind Rudy Gobert. Many felt Wembanyama should’ve taken home that award and Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell is among them, but he also has his eyes on getting one over on the big man.
Russell had high praise for Wembanyama, saying he should’ve won even more awards and accolades as a rookie. But he also added that he can’t wait to hit a floater over the Spurs big man, via Tidal League:
Wemby should have won every award ? pic.twitter.com/i6F5i8Lyt2
— Tidal League (@TidalLeague) July 30, 2024
For someone like Russell who is not the best athlete, he would never have the unrealistic hopes of pulling off a dunk over Wembanyama like others would. But to be able to pull off a floater over the most feared rim protector with that wingspan would be the ultimate accomplishment.
Very rarely does a prospect live up to the hype that Wembanyama had, but he has proven himself to be better than advertised and the rest of the league already recognizes it. Russell went so far as to say Wembanyama deserved some MVP recognition, which is a bit far-fetched considering the Spurs’ record, but just goes to show ho impressive he has been.
The best rim-protecting bigs are always targets for guards and wings looking to put them on a poster and there are certainly plenty who have their eyes on Wembanyama. But when the Lakers and Spurs face off, Russell just wants the ball to get right above the outstretched fingertips of the Spurs phenom and fall through the hoop. And when it does, everyone will know why he has such a huge smile on his face.
Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell details relationship with Kobe Bryant as a rookie
Victor Wembanyama has the chance to be one of the all-time greats, but D’Angelo Russell is no stranger to those as he is currently teammates with LeBron James and was a teammate of the legendary Kobe Bryant during his rookie year with the Lakers.
Russell Rrecently looked back on his rookie season, which was Kobe’s final year in the NBA, and admitted that much of what the Lakers legend tried to teach him went right over his head. Russell said Kobe tried to be like a big brother to him, but at 18 years old he was just young and naive.
The Lakers guard did say that the teachings did stick with him and began to make more sense as the years passed and certain things would come back to him.
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