After enduring a slump that landed him as a chip in most trades the Lakers explored this offseason, D’Angelo Russell responded to the chatter with emphatic performances. The most recent example of his brilliance came when he exploded for a 44-point showstopper to lead the LeBron-less Lakers to a 123-122 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. During that game, he added 21 points in the fourth quarter alone and capped the night with a go-ahead floater in the last 5.9 seconds, further solidifying his status as a clutch-time hero. However, that wasn’t the case last season.

Last year, it was Dennis Schroder who Darvin Ham trusted to finish the game. With D’Angelo Russell struggling to find his touch, Schroder’s defense became more valuable to Ham. Ultimately, in the Lakers’ final game, Ham chose to bench D’Lo as the eventual champions, the Denver Nuggets, swept them in the Western Conference Finals. And a year later, the 28-year-old pointed fingers at his former teammate for his inability to form a relationship with the coach. In an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Russell said, “His relationship with Darvin is the reason I couldn’t have a relationship with Darvin… And we got swept, and I’m here and he’s not. And I like our chances.”

However, his comments did not sit well with American rapper Mase, who called out D’Lo for snitching on his former teammates. In the recent episode of Come and Talk 2 Me, he said, “The passive-aggressiveness gotta stop…Sound like [D’Angelo Russell] snitched on everybody, man.”

“He got a whole new generation he’s snitching on. This generational snitch right here. You know, he’s gonna make it his business to snitch on somebody. Like, yo, D’Angelo Russell, chill out. You don’t gotta tell on everybody, man. What’d they call that growing up, a tattletale? That N****’s a tattletale,” continued the 48-year-old. As Mase mentions, this is not the first time Russell has made headlines for snitching on his former teammate.

D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young drama

Russell and Nick Young were pretty tight during their time as teammates on the Lakers. However, their relationship took a dramatic turn after a leaked video surfaced. During the 2015-16 season, D’Lo allegedly videotaped Swaggy P confessing to cheating on his then-fiance, Iggy Azalea. This led to trust issues with the team and is also cited as one of the reasons the team lost to the Utah Jazz by 48 points that season. Consequently, both Young and D’Lo were traded following the controversy.

However, D’Angelo Russell found his way back to LA at the 2023 trade deadline and played a huge role in the Lakers’ run to the Western Conference Finals last season. And he is making a difference this season once again. After hitting rock bottom with a dismal 10.2 points per game in December, Russell bounced back with 22.7 points per game in January and 20.2 points per game in February. As March unfolds, the hope is that he can build on this momentum as the Lakers try to make a playoff push.

Read More: D’Angelo Russell Trade Drama: Kobe Bryant’s Damning Advice Saved the Lakers Star