Brooklyn Nets’ head coach, Kenny Atkinson, compared D’Angelo Russell to LeBron James after his strong performance on Friday night.
After the Brooklyn Nets’ convincing 109-100 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, D’Angelo Russell received high praise from head coach Kenny Atkinson regarding his performance. Atkinson even went as far as comparing Russell to LeBron James.
“I thought D’Angelo (Russell) made some elite passes tonight…” Coach Kenny Atkinson told Anthony Puccio of SB Nation, “Those are the type of passes LeBron makes.”
Looking at his performance last night, it’s easy to see why Atkinson felt so strongly about Russell’s playmaking. Take a look at this assist early in the first quarter:
Are you seeing what I’m seeing? That’s a no-look, one-handed hook pass through a sea of arms that lands squarely in the hands of Joe Harris. How many guys in the league could successfully make a pass with that level of difficulty? 15? Maybe 20?
(By the way, you better believe that one of those 15-to-20 guys is the Lakers’ future Hall of Fame forward, LeBron James).
Russell has been undeniably sharp during the new year. So far, Russell is averaging a double-double with 22.5 points and 11.5 assists in the two games played. He has stepped up his play and he’s starting to look like the player the Lakers thought they were taking with the second-overall pick back in 2015.
Russell and the rest of his Brooklyn teammates will have the opportunity to continue their 2019 winning streak this Sunday. Brooklyn faces the Chicago Bulls, a team with the third-worst record in the league, at 3:30 p.m. ET.
