D'Angelo Russell doesn't care that GMs around the NBA think he'll break out

Los Angeles Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell looks primed to easily outshine his rookie campaign in his sophomore one. Russell has looked ready for the burden of being a number one option while leading the Lakers in scoring with 17.4 points per game so far during the preseason. He’s done so while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 39.1 percent on three-pointers, all while flashing playmaking potential as well.

Russell’s production has Lakers fans giddy for what he could do this year, and they aren’t the only ones predicting big things from the young point guard. In the annual NBA.com poll of the league’s general managers, a very nice 6.9 percent of league decision makers picked Russell as the player they thought was “most likely to have a breakout season” this year.

When asked about the recognition at practice on Thursday, Russell himself came off as less than desperate for the approval of those anonymous GMs:

RECAP:

“Did you see that poll?”

“Mhmm”

“You had to be a little like, oh, okay, that’s kind of cool.”

“Not really.”

“Really?”

“I don’t really care.”

Leader in that “breakout” category in the poll Devin Booker may be friends with Russell, but judging by this video, Russell may not be looking very friendly against Booker and his Phoenix Suns in the Lakers’ final preseason game tomorrow.

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