Lakers’ center Anthony Davis came under fire after the Lakers lost their season opener to the Nuggets, with AD disappearing in the second half and allowing Nikola Jokic to dominate. LeBron James has come out and made it clear that the Lakers do not care about what the haters have to say.
“We don’t give a shit about criticism of AD. We don’t care.”
“We don't give a shit about criticism of AD.”
– LeBron
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 27, 2023
Davis shouldn’t be thrown off his game because people are making mean comments against him on the internet. He is one of the best centers in the NBA right now and showed it in the Lakers’ win against the Suns.
Even if LeBron was the one to hit the late buckets that sealed the win, the only reason the Lakers didn’t trail by 25 points heading into the fourth quarter was because of Davis’ play. His 32 points with six stocks were crucial, as Jusuf Nurkic spent the game in foul trouble and was barely a factor on the offensive end.
Davis can contend for Defensive Player of the Year if the Lakers are a top seed and he can meet the 65-game requirement for awards consideration.
LeBron James Said Anthony Davis Is The Face Of The Lakers
LeBron has been trying to hand the team over to Davis as he looks to preserve himself for late-season situations in Year 21. In the offseason, LeBron openly referred to AD as the face of the Lakers, giving the 30-year-old his full support to take over the franchise before his prime passes him by.
“He is the face [of the franchise]. You look at all these [retired] numbers that surround this facility, all the greats that have come here and AD is one of them.”
Davis has averaged 24.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks throughout his career on the Lakers. He was a part of the 2020 championship squad but lost Finals MVP to LeBron. Many agree that Davis was arguably their most impactful player for most of the season, with James and fans wanting to see Davis contribute in that vein again.
Age and health are becoming big concerns for everyone when it comes to Davis, so it’ll be interesting to see how he copes this season.
LeBron James Explained Anthony Davis Role As A Leader On The Lakers
In a similar vein, James also called Davis one of the greatest centers in Lakers history, a franchise that has seen Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal come before him while discussing how Davis leads the franchise as co-captain alongside James.
“[Anthony Davis] is great, man… AD’s amazing. We’ve been here for the longest now, year six for me, year five for AD. We’re both co-captains and he’s just as much a leader of this ball club as I am. I have a lot of the guards that I take care of and he’s got a lot of the forwards and bigs to take care of and visa-versa. We switch off, that’s how our leadership is. AD’s everything that this franchise could want and more… He’s one of the greatest bigs to play for this franchise, for sure.”
All the chest pumping for James won’t make Davis take the reins of the franchise until he shows that desire on the court and in the locker room. It’s always hard to take a role like that when you have LeBron on your team. But it’s clear Davis has the blessing to make this franchise his own.
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