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“Battle of the LA Rejects”: Sports World Goes Crazy as Former NBA Champion Openly Issues Boxing Challenge to Ex-Lakers Teammate Who Snitched on Him

Published 09/03/2022, 9:00 AM EDT

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Former NBA star Nick Young has set his sights on former Los Angeles Lakers teammate D’Angelo Russell. The Minnesota Timberwolves star had a good season with his team but old tensions have come to the fore again following Young’s challenge. Both of these players have had a long-running feud between them.

Young still holds a grudge over what Russell did to him back in 2016. In a recent interview, he was asked which current NBA player would he like to get into the ring with. His answer was prompt. “D’Angelo”, said the former Laker. Russell was the only player he specifically mentioned. He also said that he would like to challenge, “Some guys on the Warriors, some guys on the Lakers, a couple of coaches.” 

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Their feud started in 2016 when Russell secretly filmed Nick Young admitting to cheating on his then-fiance, rapper Iggy Azalea. The video was leaked to the public and it created a rift between them and the whole locker room energy during that season was off because of it.

There were reports that the situation had become quite bad between them and that there was no trust at all among the teammates. Russell was also reportedly isolated from everyone else during a team breakfast meeting and no one talked to him following the incident.

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Both of them played one more season together before leaving the team in 2017. D’Angelo Russell is now in his eighth NBA season and has already spent four of them with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Meanwhile, Young played for the Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets before hanging up his boots in 2018.

Here are some of the best reactions from NBA Twitter:

The Lakers had a turbulent 2016 season

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The Los Angeles Lakers had a tough time throughout the 2016-17 season. The biggest advantage the Lakers had, though, was their young core of Russell, Brandon Ingram, and Julius Randle. But, they gave them all away. Randle left for the New York Knicks in 2019 and Russell became one of the stars for the Timberwolves.

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Ingram later joined the New Orleans Pelicans. He played an integral part in the team getting to the playoffs. The Lakers ended up getting LeBron James and Anthony Davis and winning their first title in ten years in 2020.

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Watch this Story: Who Was Drafted Before Michael Jordan? Where Are They Now and How Was Their Career?

What do you think of Nick Young’s comments? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Aditya Kar

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Aditya Kar is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. A holder of Bachelors and Masters degrees in History, he has been a fan of the NBA since 2011. He has a very keen interest in the stories that define the league and the sport.
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Edited by:

Veer Badani