Emmanuel Mudiay Takes a Shot at Byron Scott After Dishing 10 Assists in Win Over Lakers

Emmanuel Mudiay Takes a Shot at Byron Scott After Dishing 10 Assists in Win Over Lakers

Image via USA Today Sports / Chris Humphreys

The Lakers selected D'Angelo Russell with the No. 2 pick in this summer's draft, but some believed that Emmanuel Mudiay might have been more immediately ready to contribute at the NBA level thanks to playing professionally in China last season.

That includes Mudiay himself, obviously, and before his Nuggets faced the Lakers on Tuesday, he admitted that L.A. passing up on him in the draft would be a motivating factor for him during his first chance to show them what they may have missed.

“They passed up on me; that’s definitely a motivation,” Mudiay told Los Angeles News Group after morning shootaround at West Chester High School. “They took another point guard ahead of me. I’m a point guard. So I guess they saw something in [Russell] that they didn’t see in me.”

So of course, after Mudiay was credited with 10 assists in Denver's win (which sent the Lakers to 0-4 on the season), he made sure to fire back at Scott's relatively ridiculous assessment.

We're just four games into the season, and Russell may very well have a better career when all is said and done. But either way, Scott giving a negative scouting report of his rookie opponent on game day doesn't seem to have been the wisest of decisions.

Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com

Latest in Sports