Golden State Warriors star, Stephen Curry has made his mark as one of the best shooters the NBA has ever seen. Curry has single-handedly started the three-point revolution in the NBA. He is also certainly one of the most exciting teammates to play with. In 2019 D’Angelo Russell was traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the Golden State Warriors as a part of a sign-and-trade deal for Kevin Durant.
Recently D’Angelo Russell appeared on the “Run Your Pace” podcast and was talking about Stephen Curry. Russell made some shocking revelations and stated that the worst thing in his career was playing with the Warriors. He went on to explain by stating that Curry has some of the toughest shooting workouts. Russell stated that Curry practices every shot before the game and seeing him making shots from anywhere on the court gave him false confidence about himself.
His practices, like he practices every shot, like off the ball, right hand, behind the back. Like you warming up, he’s practicing half-court shots……Seeing his prep made me really wanna be like alright, I can shoot from anywhere. D’Angelo Russell via Run Your Pace
Over the years Curry has shown the fans how great of a shooter he is. His three-pointers from anywhere on the court have left the fans thrilled. But the reason behind it is certainly Curry’s work ethic and practice. It’s the reason why the Warriors players don’t hesitate before passing the ball to Curry. But not everyone can be like Curry as proved in Russell’s case.
"He practices every shot… So when he gets it to half-court with point three, he’s asking for it. He makes it. It’s like no surprise. Seeing his preparation made me really be like, Alright, I can shoot from anywhere.”
D'Angelo Russell on Steph Curry 🗣️pic.twitter.com/wEHEsTFQKc
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 3, 2024
Russell wasn’t a great fit for the Warriors and the duo of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. He just played 33 games for the Warriors. But Russell averaged a career-high three-point percentage at the time and the most points per game in his career. Currently, Russell is a part of the Los Angeles Lakers.
D’Angelo Russell on playing alongside Kobe Bryant as a rookie
Playing alongside one of the legends of the game is a dream of every NBA player. D’Angelo Russell was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers as the 2nd overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. After which he got to share the court with NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
Bryant had already won five championships with the Lakers and was on the final leg of his career. While Russell was in his young years, he stated he was just naive playing alongside Bryant. Russell even talked about Bryant’s farewell season and his last game with the Utah Jazz.
I was just naïve to his whole legacy at that time. I’m 18 bro. So, I’m young and dumb. Everything’s funny. Kobe Bryant, let me see if I can make him laugh. Just young and dumb, bro.
D’Angelo Russell via Run Your Pace
D'Angelo Russell looks back on Kobe Bryant's farewell season, including his 60-point masterpiece in his final NBA game:
"What was crazy, his year turned into a farewell tour out of nowhere… We [the Lakers] were trash… When you got the ball and they booing you, you know what… pic.twitter.com/tFD83WIaGY
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 31, 2024
D'Angelo Russell on his time with Kobe Bryant:
"I was 18, I was young and dumb. Everything was funny. So I was like "I'ma try to make him laugh". He never laughed, he was always serious. But he little bro'd me. He was always like "You shouldn't do this" or "think about this'" pic.twitter.com/NFcVlyYNqa
— DOM – Epic Hoops (@DominickNBA) July 30, 2024
Bryant took Russell under his wing and helped the young star grow in his career. The 5-time champion has been a mentor to many young stars in the league and has had a great impact all over the league.
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