NEW YORK, N.Y. — D’Angelo Russell arrived at Dyckman Park on a Wednesday night with new teammates Isaiah Whitehead and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. It was his first dose of New York street basketball – a packed, rowdy city crowd ready to watch hoops under the lights on the paved blacktop courts.
Fans in the stands heckled Russell and said anything they could to get under his skin. He recalls people yelling, “Go back to where you came from!”
Russell didn’t let it bother him. He entered with a chip on his shoulder and he played a gritty game of basketball with a chip on his shoulder, winning the game on a last second shot.