For the first time since 2004, a former Ohio State basketball player is an NBA All-Star.
Brooklyn Nets guard D’Angelo Russell was named to the All-Star Game on Friday. He replaces Victor Oladipo, who is out for the season with an injury.
He is the first Buckeye named to the game since Michael Redd represented the Milwaukee Bucks in 2004. Russell is also snapping a long All-Star drought for his current team, as the first Net to play in the game since 2014.
Russell has enjoyed a breakout season in his fourth year as a professional. He is averaging a career-high 19.6 points and 6.4 assists for Brooklyn this year. The Nets are one of the NBA’s hottest teams right now, with a 20-7 record since December 5, and Russell has been a big reason why.
He was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. Russell spent two seasons in L.A. before moving to Brooklyn just before the 2017 NBA Draft.
Russell’s first season with the Nets was hampered by a knee injury that limited him to just 48 games, but he has broken out in his second season there.
Russell was only a Buckeye for one year, averaging 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists for Thad Matta’s last NCAA Tournament team.
The 2014-15 Buckeyes finished 24-11, losing to Arizona in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 2019 NBA All-Star Game will be played February 17 in Charlotte. Team captains LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will pick their squads during the All-Star Player Draft on February 7.
Look who's an All-Star N:OW…
CONGRATULATIONS 2019 #NBAAllStar @DLoading ?❄️ pic.twitter.com/cAJWcPUksF
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 1, 2019
