Anthony Davis’ first season with the Los Angeles Lakers went as well as all parties could have hoped. His arrival in 2019 helped the team make the playoffs for the first time since 2014, and they ended up going all the way and winning the championship. AD was immense for the Lakers in that postseason run, as he averaged over 27 points per game and formed one of the league’s deadliest duos with LeBron James.
There were a lot of expectations that Davis would continue to ascend and perhaps take over from LeBron as the main man on the team, but it didn’t happen. Instead, AD regressed big time as he dealt with injuries, and with their star big man being nowhere his best, the team has failed to even win a playoff series in the last two seasons.
Anthony Davis Says He Is Not A Greek God And Doesn’t Put Pressure On Himself To Be What People Think He Should Be
He has been widely criticized for his level of play and Davis is looking to silence his critics this upcoming season. He stated that a personal goal of his is to play every single game and if he does stay healthy, then there are reasons to be optimistic about the Lakers. Davis was, however, keen to say during media day that he is not putting any pressure on himself.
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“For me, I’m not putting any kind of pressure on myself at all. I’m gonna go out there and play basketball, work hard, defend, and do what the team needs to win basketball games. I’m not going to overthink and listen to what everybody else is saying and try to be this whatever player they want me to be to, this Greek god. I say Greek, not Giannis (Antetokounmpo), but like this is god-like for this team and I’m not going to put that pressure on myself.
It was a bit funny that he chose to say Greek god and immediately clarified that he isn’t speaking about Giannis. The Bucks superstar is one of the players who has been shown as an example of what Davis should have become after that title run, but he has failed to kick on.
Perhaps this will be a bounce-back season as he is healthy and the Lakers certainly hope it will be, as new head coach Darvin Ham previously stated that AD will be their most important player. The big man has to step up or else the Lakers won’t return to being contenders, no matter what the rest of the roster does.
