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The Brooklyn Nets have had plenty of players come through the franchise to either help the team win games or build up their profile before finding another team to play for. One of those players that played for Brooklyn during an important time in the franchise’s history is Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, someone that relishes those moments.
“It goes back to the group of guys we had. I always talk about that. That’s another reason I’m even here again,” Russell said during his appearance on the “Run Your Race” podcast with former NBA player Theo Pinson and AJ Richardson. Like Pinson, Russell remembers the hurdles that the Nets overcame during a time in the organization’s history where they were expected to be a team that missed the playoffs entirely.
“I just remember connecting with so many different dudes on that team,” Russell said. “I felt like a quarterback and I had a relationship with every player on our team and then, it led to our success. Like I said, that (expletive) wasn’t supposed to happen like Spence (Spencer Dinwiddie) and Caris (LeVert) was holding it down.”
Heading into the 2018-19 season, the Nets were not expected to do much as they had a projected win total of 33.5 wins, according to SportsLine.com at the time. Thanks to the efforts of players like Russell, the Nets finished the regular season with a 42-40 record and earned the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference where they eventually lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round 4-1.
If you talk to any media/fans that watched the team during that season, you usually hear about how close-knit that group was and how much fun the players were having despite being just two games over .500. Whether Russell comes back to Brooklyn for a reunion or not, it looks like he still remembers his time with the franchise with a refreshing fondness.