D’Angelo Russell may have been getting an early jump on setting up an offseason vacation.
At one point, Russell — who finished with zero points in 24 minutes of play in the Lakers’ 112-105 Game 3 loss to the Nuggets — was sitting on the bench and appeared to be on his phone during a team huddle, as seen in a video on X.
The 28-year-old point guard also appeared to be eating something.
It’s unclear if Russell skipped the huddle on purpose.
It’s possible he was frustrated with his scoreless performance in a crucial Game 3.
Russell missed all seven of his shots and went 0-for-6 in 3-point attempts in the loss — which put them in a 3-0 hole against the reigning champion Nuggets.
At one point, fans were booing Russell, who was eventually benched.
Russell did have three rebounds, two assists, one steal and a single block.
Russell is shooting just 32.6 percent from the field so far in this series.
The All-Star guard also struggled offensively in the 2023 Western Conference Finals against the Nuggets.
The LeBron James-led Lakers are now one game away from a potential trip to the offseason, and history isn’t on their side.
No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit, to date.
The Lakers led by more than 10 points in all three games of the first-round series, but had no answer for the reigning NBA Finals MVP, Nikola Jokic.
The Lakers are on an 11-game losing streak to Nuggets — and it marked their seventh straight playoff loss, all of which have come against Denver.
The Lakers host the Nuggets for Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
