D'Angelo Russell Named Lakers' Starting PG Over Gabe Vincent Ahead of 2023-24 Season

The Los Angeles Lakers are sticking with D'Angelo Russell in the starting lineup despite his struggles in the 2022-23 playoffs and the offseason acquisition of former Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent.

"He's our starting point guard," Lakers head coach Darvin Ham told reporters on Thursday, adding that Vincent will come off the bench.

"At the end of the day, we don't get to where we got to without D'Angelo Russell," Ham added.

The head coach also noted that four starting spots—Russell, LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves—are locked in stone, while the fifth starting spot in the frontcourt is up for grabs. Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura are presumably the top contenders for that spot.

The Lakers are expecting big things from Hachimura:

As for Russell, the 27-year-old point guard started 17 games for the Lakers last season after being acquired in a midseason trade that shook up the Lakers' roster, averaging 17.4 points and 6.1 assists while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three.

The playoffs were a different story.

While he wasn't terrible in series wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round (16.7 PPG, 5.8 APG) and Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals (14.7 PPG, 4.8 APG), he was dreadful in the Denver Nuggets' four-game sweep of the Lakers in the conference finals (6.3 PPG, 3.5 APG, 13.3 percent shooting from three).

That performance, paired with Russell's history of lackluster defense and the offseason addition of Vincent—who, it should be noted, was excellent in the Heat's run to the NBA Finals, averaging 12.7 points and 3.5 assists per game in last season's playoffs while shooting 38.7 percent from three—led to questions about who would have the inside track for the starting position.

For now, it appears to be Russell's role to lose. But if his struggles carry over from the postseason, the Lakers have excellent insurance in Vincent.