Despite all the new acquisitions made by the Purple and Gold this offseason, the key to the team’s success has not changed.
If the Lakers hope to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy again, they are going to need the best from their superstar big man, Anthony Davis.
The good news is, the guy seems to be in the best shape of his life. Here’s what head coach Frank Vogel had to say about AD’s transformative offseason.
(via Spectrum’s “LakeShow” podcast)
“He put a lot of work this off-season into his body, a lot of work,” Vogel said. “We had a moment maybe two weeks ago, where he had been training at home and we had a lot of conversations about concerns we have with our team … And (AD) comes in for a workout, the first time we’ve seen him for a while, and his body looked imposing. And we all just looked at each other like, ‘We’re going to be really good this year. Just looking at that guy right there, we’re going to be really good this year.’”
Anthony Davis sighting in San Diego 👀
Looks like he’s been in the gym a lot this off-season 💪 pic.twitter.com/roH5oqCTFj
— The Laker Files (@LakerFiles) September 6, 2021
Last year, Davis was heavily criticized for his performance, which — by his own standards — was not up to par. In just 36 games, he averaged 21.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game on 49.1% shooting. The Lakers never made it past the first round, suffering a series defeat against Phoenix in 6 games.
If Anthony Davis comes back this season bigger and stronger than he was before, it could go a long way in helping the Lakers establish a solid interior presence.
Either way, the Lakers will only go as far as AD takes them. We will see soon enough if his new and improved form will be enough to propel the franchise to its peak.
