Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell has fatherhood to thank for his focus

It’s hard to get a one-year-old to focus on anything for long periods of time, but there’s an exception when point guard D’Angelo Russell plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. With a playoff shot ahead of him for the Lakers in New Orleans on Tuesday night, Riley Russell will likely be focused on watching his father on TV with a mini basketball in his hand at home in Los Angeles.

“He goes to a lot of games, but if he’s not there, the nanny or someone will send a video in a group text message to the guys watching the game at home and just stay in touch with everyone,” Russell said. Andscape in a recent telephone interview about his son. “Maybe he’ll sit on the table and have fun the match. And he already knows the little nuances of basketball. Pass. Dunk. Shoot. Dribble. He knows when the ball goes into the online. That’s good too.

For D’Angelo Russell, the birth of his son on September 24, 2022 modified his life on and off the court. Before his son was born, Russell was not focused on the court and experienced anxiety as he bounced across the NBA before finding a house with the Lakers.

Russell and his family members were emotional through the 2015 NBA draft when the Lakers made an unexpected move and chosen him second overall out of Ohio State. The 2016 NBA All-Rookie Team selection averaged 14.3 points and 4.0 assists in his first two seasons, but was traded to the Brooklyn Nets on June 20, 2017 together with Timofey Mozgov for Brook Lopez and a first-round pick. In 2019, Russell was an NBA All-Star and finished second in Most Improved Player voting. But before Russell could acclimate himself to Brooklyn, he was dealt to the Golden State Warriors in a trade deal that gave him a four-year, $117 million contract in Kevin Durant’s July 1, 2019 blockbuster deal.

Russell was averaging a career-high 23.6 points, together with 6.2 assists and three.7 rebounds in 33 games with Golden State when he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 6, 2020, for Andrew Wiggins, a protected 2021 first-round draft pick and a 2021 second-round pick. On February 29, 2022, Russell was traded back to the Lakers in a three-team deal involving the Utah Jazz, leading to Mike Conley Jr. and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were sent to Minnesota.

Russell seemed to finally achieve some stability when he signed a two-year, $37 million contract extension with the Lakers in July 2023. Russell said that with the NBA’s jersey and address changes, he had to remind himself to “be humble.” Russell added that he has learned loads from teammates Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Karl-Anthony Towns, LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the late Kobe Bryant during his NBA profession.

“I’ve been through loads. I’ve done loads. I’ve seen loads,” Russell said. “But I used to be also around numerous people and touched shoulders with a few of the best players. I’ve been able to take loads from them and I exploit what I soak up situations like this. As for the mentality, not giving up, whatever it could be, I discover a way to take it from the good figures I’ve handled, after which I look within the mirror. I also realized that I’m a product of my surroundings; a few of the most effective things concerning the game were my environments.

“Everything I’ve been through or am prepared to undergo and I’m made for. I all the time attack that pressure, challenge, obstacle or adversity. I all the time like it when my back is against the wall since you discover a way out of all the things you have been a component of.

Russell said that since he and his partner Laura Ivaniukas welcomed their first child, his life has modified for the higher.

Over the past two seasons, the combined guard has been a reliable third goal scorer for the Lakers behind James and Davis. In the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, he averaged 17.0 and 18.4 points, respectively. He also had two career-best seasons in three-point shooting and turnovers.

According to the Lakers this season, Russell joined Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and Jalen Brunson as just the fourth player in NBA history to make 200 three-pointers, 400 assists and shoot over 40% from three-point range in a single game. match. season.

“Honestly, I will always have something on my shoulder. And when I started training (for the 2022-2023 season), I started working hard and diving into training. I only really saw my son when I wanted to rest or drink water or something like that. I always felt like I had another motivation somewhere in the back of my mind. I have more in the tank,” Russell said.

Russell said he has also modified his focus off the sector. Before his son was born, he was really afraid of missing a gathering with his friends. He said that after the birth of his son, there was a greater focus on family. Russell often posts photos of his son at home and at Lakers games on his Instagram page, including one showing his son within the locker room shaking hands with Davis. He and Ivaniukas threw their son a Lakers-themed celebration that featured Riley on a basketball card and everybody wearing Russell’s Lakers or his previous teams’ jerseys.

“Before I became a parent, life seemed complete,” Russell said. “But Riley’s arrival filled every corner of our hearts with such deep love. It has transformed our world by continually teaching us patience, resilience, and the true meaning of unconditional love. A brand new goal in life, other than basketball…

“Before I had a baby, I always felt like I had to take part in my friends’ initiatives and see what was going on, this and that. And I always realized that I was a homebody. So when I had my baby, it just allowed me to get used to being a homebody and focus on myself, my foundation, my family and life after basketball and all these other entities.”

Russell said he was blessed with a supportive father, Antonio, who taught him how to be a father. Russell also asked for fatherhood advice from James and Davis, his NBA All-Star teammates who each have three children.

In March, Russell announced on his show that his partner was pregnant with the couple’s first daughter.

“I clearly remember asking LeBron about spanking his kids and stuff like that, and he gave me very good information about it,” Russell said. “And then AD gave me some good advice about having a daughter and I hear things like that. I make little mental notes and in some unspecified time in the future all the things comes to light. You asked about it and it was the very first thing I believed of because I remember these items and I hear it. Like I said, I’m a fan of asking all of the questions…

“All my friends have girlfriends and they say, ‘This is it and this is going to change you.’ Many people around me have (daughters). I try to ask the right questions and prepare for them.”

Riley watches him from Los Angeles. Russell and the eighth-seeded Lakers are in New Orleans, preparing to earn a playoff shot on Tuesday against the seventh-seeded New Orleans Pelicans within the NBA Play-In Tournament. The winner will take the seventh seed within the Western Conference playoffs and a first-round matchup with the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Russell is averaging 21.3 points, 4.3 three-pointers and three.3 assists in three games against the Pelicans this season.

The loser of the Lakers-Pelicans game will host a deciding game on Thursday for the ultimate Western Conference playoff spot against the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between the host Sacramento Kings and Warriors. The winner of this game earns the fitting to play in the primary round against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the West’s No. 1 seed, and the loser’s season will end.

Russell is optimistic that the Lakers will discover a way to make the postseason from the play-in tournament after advancing from the play-in to the Western Conference Finals last season and winning the inaugural NBA intraseason tournament in December 2023.

“The key for us is our determination,” Russell said. “We all want to get back to where we were. We are better than we were and we can beat any team in the league and compete with them every night. For us, it simply means weathering the storm through thick and thin. Without being too tall and smug.”