NBA: The Five Most Underrated Players Of 2016-17

D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers

It wasn’t quite fair to judge D’Angelo Russell based off last year because it was Kobe Bryant’s going away tour so the ball was going to be in his hands most of the time while he took majority of the shots.

Then you had head coach Byron Scott who didn’t have a single clue how to maximize Russell’s talent. At one point, he even had him come off the bench which made absolutely no sense at all.

D’Angelo Russell is one of the most talented young players in the NBA today. He’s a big guard with pretty good vision, along with great shooting upside. Versatility is all the rage in the league these days, and he can play both guard spots which makes him unique.

If you actually watched the NBA’s summer league, then you actually saw what type of player he could potentially become. Yeah, you could say Russell was playing against rookies and fringe NBA guys but the confidence and charisma Russell exhibited was amazing to watch.

The Lakers are fun to watch again this season and D’Angelo Russell is a big reason for that. He’s averaging 16.1 points per game and 4.8 assists, on 41.3 percent shooting. Luke Walton has given him the ultimate green light, which is something he never had last year under Bryon Scott.

Assuming D’Angelo Russell continues to evolve his game, the Lakers could be a looking at a franchise caliber player a couple years down the road.