Anthony Davis Recalls The Moment LeBron Told Him He’d Be No. 1 Option For Lakers

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka traded away six players and three first-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans to get Anthony Davis in July. Davis was given a big role, and things got even tougher when he arrived in town. In September, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that LeBron James asked the team to make Davis the focal point of the offense. During his introductory press conference in September, LeBron confirmed the report, noting it would make zero sense if they didn’t do that because of Davis’ great talent. It turns out that the king informed Davis even before that. In a recent interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic, Davis talked about the moment.

Davis had already taken the focal point with the Pelicans, but he really had to do that at the time. In Los Angeles, it was supposed to be 50/50, and LeBron came to Davis saying that he’ll be the second guy. LeBron explained Davis that the team will go through him.

Then came the media. The Los Angeles Lakers are the most storied team in the NBA, and media members are always around. Is Davis enough for the team. He was aware of the fact that this would be a fun season, adding that it won’t get too tough. Yes, it is going to be fun. Davis keeps telling LeBron that no matter what they do, they really need to have fun and enjoy the game as much as possible.

Anthony Davis as No. 1 option

“It was tough because I had done it in New Orleans, but that was because it was like ‘AD you have to.’ Now it’s like, ‘well all right, we’re gonna split this 50/50. And when (LeBron) came he was like ‘nah, this is yours. I’ll play the second guy. We’re going through you.’ … And then it’s the Lakers … There’s a bigger spotlight, the media is bigger, ‘does AD have what it takes?’ … I really had to really wrap my head around ‘this is going to be a fun year. It’s not going to be tough, it’s not going to be hard, it’s going to be fun. Let’s have fun with it.’ So I tell him all the time, ‘most importantly, no matter what we do, let’s have fun. Let’s enjoy this.’”

The Lakers have won ten games in the regular season, and lost just two. LeBron and Davis have built the perfect relationship on the floor, and it really looks like they are having fun.

They haven’t been a good team for the half of the decade, so even if things get hard this season, it’s really important to enjoy every part of it.

Pretty much every team in the NBA will try to make the playoffs, but LeBron and Davis make the perfect duo. If healthy, they’d be able to win a title. Hopefully, they will stay away from trouble and injuries in the next few months.