During an episode of ‘The Bayard Podcast,’ Lakers star Anthony Davis looked back on his days with the New Orleans Pelicans. Speaking specifically on the 2017-2018 campaign, Davis said that he and DeMarcus Cousins could have won it all that year had they just been healthy long enough to have a chance.
“I know for a fu**ing fact we were winning the chip that year,” said Davis. “Golden State was too small. Draymond could only guard one of us. The connection me and him [Cousins] had. I think about that all the time.”
The Pelicans were 27-21 when Cousins went down with a left Achilles tear in late January. Even after he recovered and returned to the court, he was never the same again, and his tenure with the Pelicans would end that summer in unceremonious fashion. While Pelicans star Anthony Davis would go on to lead his team to a shocking 4-0 sweep over the Portland Trail Blazers, they were no match for the Warriors who (even without a true center) proved to be far too much for them to handle. In the aftermath of that season, Davis would lose all trust in the Pelicans and force his way to Los Angeles, where he’d finally win a championship with LeBron James. But even now, almost four years removed from his career-defining championship, Davis still thinks about the missed opportunities in New Orleans, and about what could’ve been had luck and better fortune been on their side that season. We will never get the chance to find out for sure, but Anthony Davis had something special with the Pelicans and he’s still trying to re-create it with the Lakers.
Anthony Davis Wants To Make Amends For Missed Opportunity In 2018
The DeMarcus Cousins trade was highly controversial at the time, with many critics casting doubt that a big, interior center could fit alongside a superstar like Anthony Davis, who also needs space to work on the inside. At first, the Pelicans struggled to find a system that worked but Davis and Boogue eventually caught fire and they were able to spark a solid run for the Pelicans. Cousins averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game that season while Davis achieved one of his finest stretches yet with a stat line of 28.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. Sadly, we never got to see what Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins could have accomplished with more time together and his health might have changed everything for the Pelicans and their relationship with Anthony Davis. Of course, all that’s in the past now and all Davis can do is look ahead, no matter how bleak it may be.
This season, in Los Angeles, Davis is once again playing alongside a star-studded teammate and, again, the team is falling short of expectations. At 30 years old, the burden falls on Davis to carry the Lakers into the next era and only time will tell how far he can take them. While LeBron is obviously better than Cousins, he may not be around for much longer. The best hope for Lakers fans is that Davis has learned from his past mistakes and that he can be the veteran who ushers in a new era of prosperity for the franchise.
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