D’Angelo Russell could be 2017 NBA Most Improved Player

D’Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers will be in contention for the 2017 Most Improved Player Award.

Russell along with the Lakers had an impressive summer league, unfortunately it came to an end on Thursday when they were defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They would have advanced to the quarterfinals had they won.

D’Angelo Russell in particular had a standout summer league. One game in particular stood out the most which was against the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers won by a slim margin of eight points. Yet Russell put on a display on both ends of the court.

In a press conference after the Warriors game, D’Angelo Russell spoke the truth and mentioned how he felt about his and the teams performance all in all.

He explained how they came out with no intensity on defense and in the end he bailed them out by making difficult shots. Not to mention in a previous summer league game he hit a game winning buzzer beater to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers summer league team.

D’Angelo Russell explained how he can only showcase so much, because this is the summer league and not the actual NBA with all the All-Stars. He also mentioned that the Lakers are in the Western Conference, which is a much more competitive conference.

Besides the recently acquired veterans and starter Jordan Clarkson, starters who were participating in the summer league in their second year included Russell, Larry Nance Jr., and Anthony Brown among others.

One important message that seems to have been engrained into Russell is that the game is all about defense, which is where it starts.

D’Angelo Russell in the summer league showed that he has been working all off-season to improve his game and his proof is his ability to put up big numbers scoring.

We have already seen his skillful passing abilities in last years season.

Now combine his passing abilities this year, with him finding ways to score, while being a floor general will help improve his game as he already has in the summer and he continues to perfect his craft. This is a “Dangerous” sign for the Lakers as in good.

D’Angelo Russell has been working his tail out this off-season, putting in all the work and so far it has showed on the court.

Russell is a young player as most the Lakers are, and he is the future Lakers point guard. The next step for him is to be a leader by his words, as he already has been leading by example by working out when no one else is watching. Now he needs to be leader by example along with his words.

D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson compliment each other well and are the current leaders of the team.

With everything Russell has been doing in the off-season including the summer league, he has great potential to win the 2017 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Award. Even if the Lakers miss the playoffs again he will still have a great chance, all depending on the way the season goes for the team.

D’Angelo Russell has posted double digit points throughout the summer league. Now let us see him transfer that to the regular season with passing and he can be another double-double monster on the Lakers, with a great possibility of being able to squeeze out some triple-doubles.

The Lakers will only have a rough season because they are in the Western Conference, we have have yet to see Luke Waltons coaching style, and game plans in real live game situations. During the season we will be able to radar how the season will go.

Next: Brandon Bass Joins Clippers On One-Year Deal

Let me just repeat my self and say they have a great future ahead of them.