D'Angelo Russell says his favorite hero is 'the Joker', might not know what a hero is

A staple of attending Los Angeles Lakers' games at Staples Center is the jumbotron showing interviews with various Lakers players answering random questions. During the preseason fans were treated to Nick Young sharing things like his favorite show being "Extreme Couponing." During the regular season the Lakers have decided to introduce a little anarchy and have rookie D'Angelo Russell answer some questions, including who his "favorite hero" is. The answer may surprise you:

Appearing on the jumbotron, D'Angelo Russell just said his favorite hero was "The Joker"

— Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) November 23, 2015

Okay... There are a few options here. Maybe Russell misunderstood the question, and thought it was opposite day and he was being asked his favorite villain? Maybe he did not pay that much attention during "the Dark Knight" and fundamentally misunderstood who was supposed to be the hero of that movie. Heath Ledger was mesmerizing and charismatic as the Joker after all, while Batman just growled the whole time.

Most troubling is option three: maybe Russell going Hollywood was the least of the Lakers' worries. Maybe he sees himself as a Joker-like figure sent to the franchise to upset the current order, where Kobe Bryant is allowed to shoot as much as he wants and no one tries to stop him.

Maybe he's the hero the Lakers deserve, but not the one they need right now. So they'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A... Joker?

Some men just want to watch their friends fall off of their hover-boards:

@tizzle_tone

A video posted by D'Angelo Russell (@dloading) on Nov 22, 2015 at 11:02pm PST