Back on March 1, 2016, D’Angelo Russell officially burst onto the NBA scene with the Los Angeles Lakers after a 39-point explosion against the Brooklyn Nets. Russell was a man possessed against the Nets at the Staples Center that night as he drained eight three-pointers en route to one of only 17 wins during the 2016-17 campaign.
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During the best scoring performance of his career thus far, Russell debuted the “ice in my veins” celebration for the first time on the NBA level. Russell’s celebration quickly became a hit among Lakers fans and mimicked every time he hit big shots for Los Angeles.
In a recent interview with Alex Wong of GQ, Russell explained where the celebration came from:
Where did the “ice in my veins” celebration come from?
It’s something my dad said growing up. He always said you have to be prepared for big moments, you gotta have ice in your veins. You have to have no feelings. You have to go out there and play your hardest and do what you do. That was the celebration what I performed well and knowing he prepared me mentally.
With Lakers legend Kobe Bryant now enjoying retirement, Russell could emerge as the go-to player for Los Angeles when the game is on the line. Although Russell has been dealing with a knee issue that kept him out 12 games so far this season, the second-year guard continues to show star potential as develops under new head coach Luke Walton.
It may still be quite some time before the Lakers really know what they have in Russell, but at this point, he’s shown enough to instill confidence among the coaching staff as well as the front office that they may have a star in the making.