Page 18 - Sports Illustrated Kids (April 2019)

ROUGH START
An All-America selection in his
freshman season at Ohio State,
Russell was drafted second overall by
the Lakers in 2015. Despite being just
19 years old, there were high
expectations. He was featured on the
cover of Sports Illustrated
before his rookie season, as the
student being mentored by Kobe
Bryant. The idea was that Russell
was going to follow in Bryant’s
footsteps and become the next in
a long line of Lakers stars. Russell
showed flashes of potential as a
scorer and passer early on, and he
even made the All-Rookie team.
But by his second year in Los
Angeles, Russell’s career started
on a different trajectory.
His attitude was questioned.
Lakers president of basketball
operations Magic Johnson didn’t try
to hide his displeasure with Russell.
“What I needed was a leader,”
Johnson said. “I needed somebody
also that can make the others
players better and also that players
want to play with.” Russell had a
public falling-out with one of his
teammates, and coaches questioned
his maturity.
After Russell averaged 14.3 points
and 4.0 assists in two seasons in Los
Angeles, the Lakers decided it was
best to move on. They traded Russell
during the 2017 offseason to
Brooklyn in a deal for Brook Lopez
and a first-round draft pick that
became Kyle Kuzma.
Russell accepted his fate without
hesitation. In fact, he was looking
forward to it, a fresh start in a new
city. But Russell’s early days in
Brooklyn didn’t look promising. He
missed nearly half of his first season
with injuries, and he struggled with
turnovers, averaging a career-high
3.1 per game despite playing a
career-low 25.7 minutes per game.
As he sat for two months last
18 / SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS
HIGH FLYING season after
Russell has been he underwent
the catalyst on a arthroscopic
surprising Nets team, surgery on his
helping to push a left knee,
number of players to
new heights. Russell could
hear the words
in his head. They were the same ones
that hounded him for years.
Talented but inconsistent. Discarded
from the team that drafted him.
But Russell was having none of it.
The upcoming season was his to
own, and nothing was going to get in
his way. “I trust my craft,” Russell
said. “I trust my craft, and I knew
what I was capable of.”
Russell has certainly showed that
this year. Russell has averaged career
highs in points (20.0), assists (6.6),
field goal percentage (.436) and
three-point percentage (.374) through
57 games this season.
“There’s no fear,” Kenny Atkinson,
Brooklyn’s coach, said of Russell’s
recent play. “He believes in
himself. He’s got tremendous,
tremendous confidence.”
His teammates knew he had it in
him, too. The leadership that was
doubted? The maturity some said he
didn’t have? Jarrett Allen, Brooklyn’s
6' 11" center, sees a different picture,
one in which Russell makes an
impact even if he isn’t scoring. It’s a
picture that showcases the 22-year-
old’s diverse skill set, in which he’s
making passes from different angles
for easy layups, driving and freezing
defenders with ball fakes and using
his vision to thread passes through
tight windows. One in which Russell
is the selfless, energizing leader the
Nets needed.
“He’s been through a lot, but he’s
grown because of it,” said Allen.
“Even when he doesn’t have a good
game or when he’s off, and someone
else needs to take his place, he’s still
doing stuff others don’t see, on the
bench talking to us, helping us out,
making defensive and offensive
readings. It says a lot about his
selflessness, and it gives us a lot of
energy. It shows us that—even
though when he has a bad game, he
could easily just be pouty and
sad—he wants to be a part of the
team and see us improve and be in
the game. That’s growth right there.” JASON MILLER/GETTY IMAGES
Veteran guard Joe Harris agreed,
praising Russell’s embodiment of the