With an insane 41-point, 20-rebound performance in Las Vegas this weekend, Antony Davis was the MVP of the night as the Lakers made history with their latest win. Speaking up after the game, as an in-season tournament champion, the star big man got real on what the win meant for him and the team.
“First to do it, first team to win it… we know it’s not the real thing, but we keep taking steps in the right direction,” said Davis after the buzzer.
"We know it's not the real thing"
– AD
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 10, 2023
The Lakers were unstoppable in the inaugural event, going a clean 7-0 through the group stage and knockout rounds of the tournament. The average margin of victory for the Lakers was nearly 20 points, and they set a standard of excellence this year that will be hard to follow up.
Tonight, the Lakers will no doubt be celebrating like champions in Las Vegas, a city that is notorious for its party scene. But once the sun rises tomorrow, this team will re-shift their focus back to the mission at hand, which is (and always has been) securing the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Anthony Davis Is The Star Of The Show
While LeBron James rightfully took home the MVP of the tournament (he’s been far more consistent for the Lakers), Anthony Davis is the one who put on a show for the final game. In a truly dominant performance by Davis, he was doing everything on the court to finish with 41 points, 20 rebounds 5 assists, and 4 blocks on 67% shooting. The Pacers had absolutely no answers to his interior presence.
AD: “I’M HIM” 🗣 (via @LADEig) pic.twitter.com/iuBHChHaej
— Overtime (@overtime) December 10, 2023
It was a great showing from AD, but the Lakers will need that more consistently if they want to keep this momentum going through the season and into the playoffs. At 39 years old, the Lakers shouldn’t need LeBron to be an MVP anymore, and if this version of Davis starts to show himself more frequently it could be the key to bringing the actual championship back to Los Angeles this season.
The Lakers Are Back To Business
Now that the in-season festivities are officially over, there is nothing to distract the Lakers pursuing from the ultimate prize. This season, at 14-9, and 10-2 at home, the Lakers rank 5th in the West behind the Nuggets, Mavericks, Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Defensively, they are among the top six best teams in the league, thanks to the play of AD and the surprising comeback season of two-way swingman Cam Reddish.
Simply put, the Lakers aren’t messing around and this isn’t the team we saw last season. After a 2-10 start in the first few weeks, it took everything for the Lakers to make the playoffs in 2023 and it still somehow resulted in a trip to the Western Conference Finals. This time, LeBron James is doing his part to ensure an even better outcome and we’re seeing his team play some of the best basketball of the season right now. Love them or hate them, the Lakers cannot be denied and they aren’t going anywhere as long as the King and his co-star big man are still on the roster.
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