Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell suffered a sprained ankle in Thursday’s 124-111 win over the Golden State Warriors.
Head coach Darwin Hamm said Russell’s X-rays came back negative after the game and he would be reevaluated on Friday.
The injury occurred in the first quarter when Russell went backward to inbound the ball and fell on Donte DiVincenzo’s leg. He dropped out of the game and did not return.
“Wrong place, wrong time for sure,” Russell told reporters. “Very unlucky for me.”
Russell played a key role in the Minnesota Timberwolves success last season, averaging 18.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists on 41.1 percent shooting and 34 percent from deep in 65 games.
The previous season’s success came after a shaky start to his time in Minnesota. The Timberwolves acquired the 26-year-old in a trade with the Golden State Warriors during the 2019–20 season to complement Karl-Anthony Towns, but it did not pan out as expected due to injuries and the COVID-19 shutdown.
Russell appeared in 54 games for the Timberwolves during the 2022–23 campaign, before being traded to the Lakers ahead of the NBA’s February 9 deadline. He averaged 17.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists over that span while shooting 46.5 percent from the floor and 39.1 percent from deep.
In his first three games with the Purple and Gold before the All-Star break, Russell averaged 17.3 points on 37.5 percent three-point shooting and 5.7 assists.
When Russell misses time, expect Dennis Schroder and Austin Reeves to see more playing time at that point.
The Lakers are 13th in the Western Conference with a 28–32 record. Their roster is deep after all their movements at the trade deadline, but Russell is the key starter they will need as they try to make a run in the playoffs down the stretch.