D'Angelo Russell's NBA career has already been a whirlwind.
Anointed as the next in a long line of Los Angeles Lakers superstars after being selected with the second overall pick in the 2015 draft, D'Angelo Russell spent his rookie season in and out of coach Byron Scott's dog house while watching a retiring Kobe Bryant hijack the season for his farewell tour.
Russell was subsequently traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a salary dump after an underwhelming sophomore season, lending further credence to the notion he would never live up to pre-draft expectations of stardom.
However, Russell was named an All-Star on Friday, less than two years after his ill-fated stint in Tinseltown. And after learning the news from Nets coach Kenny Atkinson on the team plane, the 22-year-old star could barely hold back tears.
The fourth-year guard has come into his own this 2018-19 campaign, averaging career-highs of 19.6 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 37.4 percent from beyond the arc on a whopping 7.2 tries per game. He's been especially good of late, picking up the slack of injured backcourt mate Spencer Dinwiddie to help Brooklyn keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.
Russell wasn't initially selected for the All-Star Game. He was chosen on Friday by Adam Silver as a replacement for Indiana Pacers star Victor Oladipo, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week.
Silver, in keeping with tradition, picked Russell because he received more votes from coaches than any other player in the Eastern Conference who wasn't originally part of the All-Star roster. Silver also considered the Philadelphia 76ers' Jimmy Butler.
Is this All-Star appearance the first of many to come for Russell? That remains to be seen, but the major improvement he's shown this season suggests it's a legitimate possibility.
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