D'angelo Russell - It Was All A Dream

D’Angelo Russell was never quite fully down and out, but there have been more than a few points over the past few years where it looked like everything that’s now taking place—an all-star-level season for a playoff-bound Brooklyn nets team— would never happen. But things done changed, and at just 23 years old, there’s still so much more to come.

- Max Resetar

Jeru the Damaja introduced that lyric to the world in “Brooklyn Took It,” which dropped in 1994. It’s been 25 years since then, but for the Brooklyn Nets, it still holds weight today. The Nets are most definitely back. They’re in the middle of the playoff picture, holding on to a future that’s shimmering with potential while rolling through a fast-tracked rebuild in the present. Their nimble turnaround from a team burdened with horrible contracts, aging centerpieces and no draft picks is a credit to great coaching, fluid team-oriented offense, sound defense and, most importantly, D’Angelo Russell.

Russell earned his first All-Star selection this season, convincingly evolving into the best player on a team headed to the postseason. He’s fought through years of deafening criticism to become one of the League’s most effective and entertaining point guards.

He’s an artist in the pick-and-roll, a ballplayer with no fear. Give him the rock in the clutch and get out the way.

All-Around growth is simple. It’s come down to confidence, opportunity, and patience. Because all of this was supposed to happen—the All-Star appearance, being the clear-cut franchise cornerstone, making the playoffs. Ever since he was little, growing up in Louisville, KY, Russell has been putting in work on the court.

“We got our first rim in our grannie’s backyard and we used to shoot all the time,” Russell remembers. “I used to shoot really high. It was just my thing. All the kids would come over—you shoot high, you shoot high. And they just started calling me Rainbow.”