D’Angelo Russell will remain under contract with the Washington Wizards for the 2026-27 season after exercising his $6 million player option, according to a report from Jake Fischer on Friday.
The decision comes as the Wizards are still in the midst of a rebuild after finishing 17-65, the worst record in the Eastern Conference during the 2025-26 season. Russell arrived in Washington as part of the blockbuster February trade that sent Anthony Davis, Russell, Jaden Hardy and Dante Exum from the Dallas Mavericks to the Wizards in exchange for Khris Middleton, Marvin Bagley III, AJ Johnson, draft compensation and additional assets.
Russell never suited up for the franchise during the second half of the season. He remained away from the team and did not appear in a game after being acquired at the trade deadline.
By opting into the final year of his contract, Russell secures his place on Washington’s books entering a critical offseason.
Russell, who turns 31 during the upcoming season, appeared in 26 games with Dallas before the trade. He averaged 10.2 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per game while shooting 40.5% from the field and 29.5% from three-point range. Those numbers represented some of the lowest production of his NBA career.
Despite a difficult 2025-26 campaign, Russell has a lengthy track record as a productive offensive guard. Across 655 career games, he owns averages of 17.0 points, 5.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 42.7% from the field and 36.3% from beyond the arc.
His strongest season came with the Brooklyn Nets in 2018-19 when he earned his lone All-Star selection. Russell averaged 21.1 points and 7.0 assists that season and helped lead Brooklyn to the playoffs. He also posted back-to-back 23-point scoring averages during the 2019-20 season while splitting time between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves.
More recently, Russell enjoyed a productive run with the Los Angeles Lakers. During the 2023-24 season, he averaged 18.0 points and 6.3 assists while shooting a career-best 41.5% from three-point range across 76 games.
