D’Angelo Russell dropped the most unhinged postgame quote of all-time after beating Bucks (2024)

After the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a 123-122 upset victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night — in large part due to D’Angelo Russell erupting for 21 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter — the team’s enigmatic starting point guard dropped a quote that, when our own Cooper Halpern tweeted it out, I thought was a joke and not a real postgame dispatch:

As it turns out, however, that quote was not only very real, but the full thing is even more incredible.

After being asked by Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times about dealing with trade rumors and if he’s always defined his own value internally, Russell did everything but put on a Bane mask from “The Dark Knight Rises” as he had the following to say (emphasis mine):

“With my craft, with my talent on the floor, I’ve always felt like I was capable of doing things. Getting hot makes it a little more exciting throughout the game. Off the floor, you all obviously know what I’ve been through. Public humiliation has done nothing but molded me into the killer that y’all see today. And I never lack confidence. I never fear confrontation. I want all the smoke... I just feel confident in what I bring to the basketball game. If it’s film, if it’s watching it, if it’s helping young players, I just know what I bring to the table, so whatever room I walk in, I’m confident.”

The full exchange is at around the 2-minute, 45-second mark of this video:

That confidence was on full display as Russell cooked his Bucks counterpart, Damian Lillard, during the majority of the so-called “Dame Time” that the latter is supposed to be the one who comes through in.

It was like watching Bane break a washed-up, semi-retired Batman, and combined with Russell’s absolutely unhinged quote, I had to put the following video recap together:

I, personally, hope Russell keeps dropping lines like that every game. I want to be able to play “D’Angelo Russell or Bane quote?” by the end of the season. If they beat Minnesota on Sunday, I need him to drop “you think the Wolves are your allies? You merely adopted them. I was raised by them. Molded by them. Hunting them is now my specialty” or something like that.

But whether he does or not, I wasn’t the only one online having some fun with the moment:

I have questions, though: Has Russell been practicing that in the mirror since the trade deadline? Or is he just that smooth in dropping bars after games like Friday’s? Either way, that is definitely both one of the funniest and most badass lines you’ll ever hear a Laker utter after a game.

The moment is also potentially even sweeter when you realize the history.

Damian Lillard and D’Angelo Russell beef origins

Now, I don’t know if Russell and Lillard actually have a real feud going — although the way Russell targeted and cooked him down the stretch, you’d be forgiven for assuming they do — but the two do have a (brief) history of going back and forth during DLo’s stints with the Lakers.

During Russell’s rookie year in 2017, Lillard took shots at Russell in the media following a Blazers win, blaming him for “poking the bear” and essentially calling him dirty after a Trail Blazers victory (via Baxter Holmes of ESPN):

Damian Lillard was struggling. By the 6:05 mark in Tuesday’s tilt against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center, the Portland Trail Blazers’ star guard had shot just 3 of 14 from the field, and his team led a young Lakers squad by only one point.

But then Lillard and Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell engaged in a war of words and had to be separated. Each player was assessed a technical foul. And from then on, Lillard scorched the Lakers, scoring 13 points — including 11 in a row in the third quarter — while his team stretched its lead, which reached 23 points, on the way to a 108-87 blowout win.

“[Russell] poked the bear and you seen what happened the rest of the game,” Lillard, who finished with 20 points on 7-of-21 shooting, told reporters after the game, according to audio posted by the Trail Blazers’ team reporter.

Lillard said that confrontation with Russell “absolutely” ignited his strong play in a game-turning third quarter in which the Lakers scored a season-low 12 points on 5-of-23 shooting.

“As far as that situation, since last game, he’s been doing little slick elbows,” Lillard said of Russell. “And I play the game clean. I’m from Oakland. I ain’t with that extra stuff and nobody can just do what they want to me.

Well, nobody can just do what they want to him... except on defense during the fourth quarter of games in 2024, when players as skilled and confident as Russell pretty much can do whatever they want while relentlessly hunting Lillard, who is evidently under the impression that it is illegal to fight through screens or play physical:

Making the moment even sweeter? The public reputation Russell gained from rookie foibles like the above helped lead Magic Johnson to exile him to Brooklyn, where Russell led the young, upstart Nets to the playoffs alongside backcourt-mate and friend Spencer Dinwiddie.

Dinwiddie, now a Laker, made sure that his Brooklyn buddy got to celebrate his crunch time heroics by turning Dame Time into Shame Time on the other end as he swatted Lillard’s would-be game-winner to seal the victory:

The two had a great time celebrating after the game:

So, in conclusion, the Lakers need to offer D’Angelo Russell a lifetime extension. Keep D’Banelo in purple and gold forever.

You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.