Education
Russell attended Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky as a freshman in 2010–11, before transferring to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida for his sophomore season.
Russell attended Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky as a freshman in 2010–11, before transferring to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida for his sophomore season.
He plays both the point guard and shooting guard positions. He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes before being selected with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Lakers. Russell was rated by Rivals.com as a five-star recruit.
Russell committed to Ohio State on June 7, 2013, choosing the Buckeyes over Louisville, Michigan State and North Carolina. Russell played one season of college basketball for Ohio State University. This was the first triple-double recorded by an Ohio State freshman.
However, the Buckeyes' season ended the following round with a 73–58 loss to Arizona. He also earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. In 35 games for Ohio State in 2014–15, Russell averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 33.9 minutes per game.
On April 22, 2015, Russell declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility. Los Angeles Lakers (2015–present)
On June 25, 2015, Russell was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. On July 10, 2015, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Lakers and went on to average 11.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in five Summer League games.
He made his debut for the Lakers in the team's season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 28, recording 4 points and 3 rebounds in a 112–111 loss. On December 4, he recorded his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks. On January 7, 2016, he scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 118–115 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
His 39 points were the most by any NBA rookie in 2015–16 and the most by a Lakers rookie in a regular-season game since Elgin Baylor had 55 in March 1959. His 8 made three-pointers broke Nick Van Exel's previous rookie Laker record of 6 made three-pointers in a single game. Russell scored 20+ points in 4 straight games against Memphis (played twice), Brooklyn and Denver.