The Los Angeles Lakers are going back to their original starting group, which includes D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves in the backcourt. This puts the pair in the center in the middle of the 2023–24 season.

They haven’t always been a strong team on the court together; in 491 minutes together this season, they have a minus-6.1 net rating. That’s the fifth-worst net rating of any Laker pair that has played together for at least 250 minutes.

But what’s interesting about Reaves and Russell is how friendly they are outside of sport. In the past few weeks, it’s become clear that they’ve become close this season. They started as the first five backcourt players but were moved to the bench almost at the same time. They were then brought back into the starting group. They’ve been through everything this season together.

Through it, Russell has gained a huge amount of respect for Reaves. He talked about what he likes about the third-year Lakers guard and what he thinks about his game.

“I enjoy him. The fan said, “I just like him.” “I feel like I talk about this guy all the time in interviews.” I just like his game. Being close to him and seeing how competitive he is on the court is infectious. Seeing how he controls the game with his competitive nature is also contagious. In other words, we play golf together. He’s going to be on my show soon. … We spend time together. “I like it.”

For Reaves’ part, Russell praised him, and he too had a lot to say about their friendship off the court and Russell’s skills on the court.

“Like he said, we play golf together. “We play golf, basketball, and even sports on the road, so we spend a lot of time together here,” Reaves said. “He’s a good person.” Nice people to be with. The good people he hangs out with are good for you, too.

He is the best at basketball of anyone I’ve seen. You feel good about him when he has the ball because you know what he can do and what he’s going to do. He has clearly been playing at a very good level for about seven years now. “But yeah, I like his music too.”

Russell and Reaves might be able to improve their advanced measures now that they are back in the starting lineup. But these players don’t have a problem with getting along. If they keep playing together this season, their friendship will only grow.