After spending the first seven seasons of his career with the New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Davis requested a trade from the team, which eventually sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster move in the summer of 2019. As soon as he landed in Los Angeles, AD clicked with LeBron James and even though not everybody believed they were going to have a good time together, AD told otherwise and created the best duo in the league alongside the King.
It was a very different season for AD; he played in the playoffs again and had a deep run, winning his first NBA championship against the Miami Heat in the Orlando bubble. He was the best version of himself the last season and he’s ready to run it back with LeBron this campaign.
AD looked “rejuvenated”, with fresh desire and hunger to win it all. On a recent edition of Road Trippin’, LeBron talked about that, explaining the difference between the player that we saw on the Lakers last season and the one that played for New Orleans in 2018/19.
LeBron James: “I watched him a lot in New Orleans, he would get these little nagging injuries and be out games…”
Richard Jefferson: “But he wasn’t fighting for anything so it made sense…”
James: “This year, no matter what injury he had, his ass came back on the floor.”
https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1336876999139356674
This is a curious situation for everybody. It shows how committed AD was to the Pelicans or the importance that some games had for him. He was never a contender in New Orleans and that showed. He knew this year the challenge was a lot bigger and AD didn’t miss time, regardless of his injuries. He got to work with LeBron and the final outcome was his first NBA championship.
