Even though the Los Angeles Lakers finished their road trip, one bright spot that emerged was the play of rookie D’Angelo Russell. His performance has not been lost on Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd.
Kidd is one of the greatest point guards in the history of the NBA and has a good idea of how difficult it is to succeed in the NBA as a rookie.
Before the Bucks squared off with the Lakers at Staples Center, Kidd complimented Russell’s play so far this season via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:
Jason Kidd on D'Angelo Russell: "For a young player he is playing at a very high level."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 16, 2015
Though Russell got off to a slow start this season, he has begun to get more comfortable as this season as gone on. Even moving to the bench couldn’t slow him down as he has become more aggressive and confident in the team’s recent games.
Kidd is one of the people who can understand what Russell is going through. In his rookie season, Kidd was thrown into the fire as the starting point guard for a Dallas Mavericks team boasting two established stars in Jamal Mashburn and Jim Jackson. Kidd would go on to win co-Rookie of the Year Honors and Russell matching that accolade would be very impressive.
At only 19 years old, Russell has a lot on his shoulders, but he seems to be doing a good job of learning and improving throughout each game. It’s not difficult to see why the Lakers were high on him in the draft, and Kidd sees the potential in him as well.
