When he splashed home his sixth 3-pointer in Monday's win over the Atlanta Hawks — his 183rd of 2023-24 — D'Angelo Russell tied the Los Angeles Lakers record for most made triples in a season, set by Nick Van Exel in 1994-95 (the 30-year gap tells you how devoid the franchise has been of high-volume snipers).
In his ninth NBA campaign, and second stint in Los Angeles, Russell, 27, is producing the best 3-point shooting season of his career — and the Lakers have needed every bit of it.
Russell has long specialized as a heliocentric creator. He's not exactly Kyle Korver off the ball. However, as he's teamed up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis — on a roster otherwise bereft of reliable floor-spacers — Russell has turned catch-and-shooting into a point of emphasis.
At Lakers practice on Thursday, I heard Russell instructing one of the coaches to feed him off-target passes as he constructed various catch-and-shoot drills. This is something you can see DLo (but, surprisingly, few other players, in my experience) work on before each game.
D’Angelo Russell working on catch and shoot 3s off bad passes pic.twitter.com/IKuU8sUsHV
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvo_) March 1, 2024
On Thursday, I asked him when he implemented the routine.
“Once I realized I'm not gonna get any better as an individual basketball player,” said Russell. “Eight to 10 years in the league, I've learned where my shots are gonna come. When I watch countless amount of film, I see what shots I don't get.
“I try to just harp on things that I can control and where I see my shots. And I see me getting tough passes, and there's a sense of me, in that moment, saying that ‘you can still shoot it.' Or, ‘Yeah, that pass wasn't good,' but that distraction forces you not to shoot it or decide to shoot a tough one.”
Russell is converting 44.2% of his catch-and-shoot triples, per NBA.com, which have comprised 28.5% of his looks in 2023-24. Both figures would be career highs.
“When I get it, if it's a good pass or bad pass, I'm already — it feels comfortable, cause I practice on bad passes,” he continued. “A lot of shooters would want the seams and all that lined up. But I know I can catch and shoot, and I know I can shoot off the dribble. When I'm shooting off the dribble, the seams are never really right. You kinda have to lean into it with your body and trust it. I'm trusting the most upright confidence that I could have right now. So it's working for me.”
D’Angelo Russell was talking about his improvement as a catch-and-shooter so I asked him about his routine of practicing shooting off bad passes, which he was doing at Lakers practice.
Cool answer from DLo, who said he’s as confident as he’s ever been as a shooter: pic.twitter.com/H87V8BmtoU
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvo_) March 21, 2024
DLo is shooting a career-best 42.3% from 3-point range, and he's only gotten more accurate as he's increased his volume. Since re-entering the Lakers' starting lineup on Jan. 13, Russell has shot 45.3% on 8.3 attempts per game. He's averaging 22.1 points during that span, and the Lakers — who rank 27th in made 3s per game — are 18-11.
“He has a green room. Not a green light. A green room,” Darvin Ham said Monday.
LeBron James, Ham, and Russell's teammates have consistently implored him to adopt an aggressive scoring mindset. Russell has been so shot-ready (to crib a Ham term), in fact, that he's made a fun habit out of no-dip 3s.
@jlawbball One of the hardest shots in basketball 🤯😱 #lakers #nba #basketball #dangelorussell #lebron #bron #lebronjames ♬ original sound – Jlawbball
“I appreciate him trusting me to that extent,” Russell said about Ham's sentiment. “Definitely tried to feel like I earned something like that. It's not given.”
Russell will likely break Van Exel's record on Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena.
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