D'Angelo Russell

D'Angelo Russell (born February 23, 1996), nicknamed "DLo", is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected as a McDonald's All-American in 2014 and played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes before being selected second overall in the 2015 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Playing point guard, Russell was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team with the Lakers in 2016. He was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2017, and received his first All-Star selection in 2019. In the 2019 off-season, he joined the Golden State Warriors via a sign-and-trade deal, and was then traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the 2020 trade deadline. Three years later, he was traded back to the Lakers at the 2023 trade deadline. With the Lakers, Russell won the inaugural NBA Cup.

Russell attended Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky as a freshman in 2010–11, before transferring to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida for his sophomore season. In 2014, he helped Montverde win back-to-back High School National Tournament championships playing alongside Ben Simmons. He later played in the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic.

Russell committed to Ohio State on June 7, 2013, choosing the Buckeyes over Louisville, Michigan State and North Carolina. Russell was rated by Rivals.com as a five-star recruit.

Russell played one season of college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes. On January 9, 2015, he recorded a career-high 14 rebounds in a win over Maryland, later scoring a career-high 33 points in a win over Northwestern on January 21. On February 8, in a 79–60 win over Rutgers, Russell recorded a triple-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. This was the first triple-double recorded by an Ohio State freshman. During the NCAA Tournament, Russell scored 28 points in a 75–72 overtime win over VCU. However, the Buckeyes' season ended the following round with a 73–58 loss to Arizona. Russell earned the Jerry West Award and he was named a consensus first-team All-American, as well as first-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Freshman of the Year. In 35 games for Ohio State in 2014–15, Russell averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 33.9 minutes per game.

On April 22, 2015, Russell declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility. He was touted by many scouts and reporters to be one of the top prospects in the 2015 draft.

On June 25, 2015, Russell was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. In his debut for the Lakers in their season opener on October 28, 2015, Russell recorded four points, three rebounds and two assists in just under 26 minutes in a 112–111 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. On December 4, he recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 112–111 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. On January 7, 2016, he scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 118–115 loss to the Sacramento Kings. Russell participated in the 2016 Rising Stars Challenge, where he recorded 22 points and seven assists in Team USA's win over Team World. On March 1, he set career highs with 39 points and eight three-pointers in a 107–101 win over the Brooklyn Nets. His 39 points were the most by any rookie in 2015–16 and the most by a Lakers rookie in a regular season game since Elgin Baylor had 55 in March 1959. His eight three-pointers broke Nick Van Exel's previous rookie Laker record of six in a single game. He finished the 2015–16 season leading the Lakers and all rookies in steals per game, and became the youngest player to hit 130 three-pointers in a season. He subsequently earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors.

In the Lakers' season opener on October 26, 2016, Russell scored 20 points in a 120–114 win over the Houston Rockets. On November 15, he scored a then season-high 32 points in a 125–118 win over the Nets. He missed time between November and January with knee and calf injuries. On January 31, he recorded his second career double-double with 22 points, a career-high 10 assists and seven rebounds in his return from a three-game absence with a pair of mild leg injuries, helping the Lakers defeat the Denver Nuggets by a score of 120–116. He set a new career high for assists with 11 against the Washington Wizards the following game on February 2. On March 19, he scored a career-high 40 points in a 125–120 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.