NBA

Ham hails 'elite' Russell after Lakers star shooter matches 3s record

By Sports Desk March 19, 2024 658

D'Angelo Russell earned the plaudits of coach Darvin Ham after he tied Nick Van Exel's franchise record for 3s in a single season for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Russell went 6-for-10 from the 3-point line in a 136-105 demolition job of the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

The 28-year-old finish with 27 points and 10 assists as the Lakers bounced back from successive defeats.

Russell has now shot 183 3-pointers this season, tying Van Exel's all-time single-season Lakers record, which was set in 1994-95. To get there, Russell had to surpass the late Kobe Bryant, who sunk 180 3s in the 2005-06 campaign.

It left Ham to laud the star guard, with the Lakers coach saying: "He has a green room. Not a green light [to shoot]. A green room.

"His prowess from the 3-point line, you know, it's really, really elite. And we need every bit of it."

Russell added: "It's really cool, honestly, just to know that, to get credit for it.

"It's just really cool. I said I don't want to underdo it, understate it, overdo it. I just feel like it's really cool to just be a part of something like that.

"I think I did something like that in Brooklyn, as well. Just to get credit for your game and what you work through and showcase it every night."

Indeed, Russell set the Nets' record for 3s in a season, with 234 in the 2018-19 campaign.

Russell's teammate Anthony Davis looks forward to a new franchise record being set when the Lakers face the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

"He's able to get going and fill up the stat sheet with his scoring, and it's a big thing for him, big thing for us as a team," Davis said Russell.

"Obviously, there's been a lot going on around D-Lo, and just to be able to do that and us embrace him and he sees that, feels the love, that's good for him."

Last modified on Tuesday, 19 March 2024 08:54
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