D’Angelo Russell entered the league with high expectations.

After a stellar season at Ohio State, the 6-foot-5 point guard was looked at by Los Angeles Lakers faithfuls as the heir apparent to Kobe Bryant.

That didn’t come easy for the shifty playmaker. He was held in coach Byron Scott’s doghouse due to issues with his maturity, and this affected the growth of Russell’s game, until he was unleashed later in the season.

In an interview with LA Daily News’ Mark Medina, the second overall pick of the 2015 draft spoke about his critics.

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“The people that say that about me don’t really matter. I know I’m in the gym. I know I’m asking for more and trying to get better. So people that are there witnessing it and putting me through the workouts, those are the people that matter.”

Last season, Russell upped his performance once given the exposure. After the All-Star break, his stats were 15.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He will look to carry this over, along with his strong summer league showing, to training camp in anticipation of a breakout sophomore season.