The Los Angeles Lakers have been the surprise of the NBA so far this season as they have won three consecutive games to put themselves at 4-3 on the season.
All three of their losses were on the road against playoff-caliber teams, the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, and the Lakers were in all three games in the fourth quarter.
Additionally, the team is 3-0 at home including wins over the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, and the Golden State Warriors, which was extra special because it was Luke Walton’s first game against the team he was an assistant coach of for the past two seasons.
With Kobe Bryant no longer on the team, the Lakers no longer have a clear cut superstar, as all of their wins have been team wins. The hype surrounding the team as a whole is beginning to grow though, as fans are excited for the next era of Lakers basketball. One player in particular whose popularity is growing is second-year point guard D’Angelo Russell, who is developing into one of the team’s leaders.
Russell’s maturity came into question multiple times last year, but he seems to have grown up a lot since his rookie season. The 20-year-old still likes to have fun on and off the court though, and that was the case recently when he appeared on the Youtube show Hot Ones.
Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk was on the show trying hot wings, when Russell showed up. Despite saying that he can’t eat hot food, Russell tried the hottest wing they had, via Sheen Lee:
.@Dloading ate a really spicy wing after showing up on Hot Ones. pic.twitter.com/5kNSClQcZl
— Sheen Lee (@SheenKL) November 6, 2016
Luckily for Russell, he did not try that wing on the day of a game, as that taste was probably left in his mouth for a very long time.
Nonetheless it’s clear that Russell’s celebrity is going up and as long as it doesn’t affect his game on the court and get into his head that’s just fine.