Among the young trio that the Los Angeles Lakers appear to have organized their rebuild around, it is the brewing bromance between guards Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell that has gotten the most attention. While it is nice to see the Lakers' hoped for backcourt of the future getting along famously, that rookie-sophomore combo is not the only friendship growing on this up-and-coming Lakers team. Clarkson was initially the much less heralded member of the Lakers' pair of 2014 draft picks after being drafted 46th overall, but he and 7th overall pick Julius Randle both began their professional journey together on draft night; two products of Texas high schools donning the purple and gold.
The sophomore duo continued to demonstrate the massive infusion of team chemistry during the 2015-16 season when Randle posted a caption-less photo of himself and Clarkson to Instagram on Saturday night. Clarkson later uploaded the same photo while making reference to his and Randle's somewhat similar paths to the NBA:
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And it is not just off the court where the two are demonstrating their rapport:
The Lakers' future is looking good and getting along even better.