Before the Lakers and Nuggets faced off on Tuesday, point guard Emmanuel Mudiay talked to the media about the motivation he got from the Lakers selecting D'Angelo Russell over him.

“They passed up on me; that’s definitely a motivation,” Mudiay told Los Angeles News Group. “They took another point guard ahead of me. I’m a point guard. So I guess they saw something in him that they didn’t see in me.”

When asked about not drafting Mudiay, Lakers coach Byron Scott explained, “I didn’t think he was a true point guard. I didn’t think he was a guy who made great decisions when we saw him and had him here. I thought that was something he would have to learn to do to run that position.”

When Mudiay was told of Scott's assessment, the rookie replied, “That’s another human’s opinion. I’m not worried about him. I just have to worry about what I do and worry about the Denver Nuggets.”

On Tuesday night, he had 12 points and 10 assists and helped the Nuggets give the Lakers their 4th straight loss to open the season. He only made 3 of 13 shots but played well in the 4th while D'Angelo Russell was benched by Scott.

"This was great for Emmanuel to go in there in a close game and have to make some plays," Malone said.

Russell also shot poorly (3 of 11) and finished with 7 points and 6 assists in just 20 minutes.

"It's something I've got to deal with," Russell said about not getting a chance to play down the stretch.

Source: Inside So Cal