Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell Rips Into Bruce Brown After In-Season Tournament Championship

The two have some history that goes back to last year’s playoffs.

The Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament Saturday night and, after the win, D’Angelo Russell rubbed some salt in the wound. Apparently, it was a long time coming.

After his team’s 123–109 victory over the Pacers, Russell completely ripped into Bruce Brown. The guard played for the Nuggets last year and was quite the trash talker during the Western Conference finals against the Lakers, apparently. Denver went on to sweep Los Angeles en route to an NBA title, and Russell hasn’t forgotten.

“He was talking s--- all year. Yeah. Talking s--- all year,” Russell said Saturday night, per the Los Angeles Times. “For me, it was just showing it with my play. I don’t have nothing to say to him. I’m a fan of him to be honest. This was just all on the court. Got something to say? Show me on the court. [Nikola] Jokić ain’t there next to you today. It’s different.”

Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell (1) shoots against Pacers forward Bruce Brown (11) in the third quarter of the in-season tournament championship final at T-Mobile Arena.  :: Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports

During Saturday’s eventual win, Brown picked up two quick fouls while guarding Russell and the guard put two fingers in the air toward Brown to gloat. And when he scored in the first quarter, Russell could be seen yelling at the Pacers bench. Russell finished the game with 13 points, seven assists and four rebounds while Brown notched four points on 2 for 9 shooting from the field.