Anthony Davis, the former Lakers star, recently sat down with Draymond Green for his podcast. Questions are often raised about the Lakers’ championship run during the COVID-19 Bubble over the validity and value of that ring.
While some suggest that the bubble championship came with no pressure from away crowds, others claim that they missed playing in front of them. Davis revealed that while he thinks it was the hardest ring to earn, the competitive side of him remains conflicted over the experience to this day.
“Yeah, man. I talk about this a lot. I actually was just talking about this two days ago, too, right before we played Brooklyn. And that was the whole reason, that was the whole goal after leaving New Orleans: I wanted to compete for championships,” said Davis when Green asked him to talk about the championship.
“Leave New Orleans, get to LA, and by far the best team that I’ve been on, you know, since then, at that time. And as we’re playing, you know, to start the season, we’re kicking a–. We were like number one in the West.”
“And then COVID happens, and we stop. Go to the bubble. We don’t know what to expect, right? I don’t know what’s going to happen, how the game’s going to go, because we had way more games left than what we actually played in the bubble, but they just cut it down.”
“So, we’re playing, and go through the whole run, and we win, and at that moment I feel like I’ve accomplished everything, right?” recalled Davis.
“I accomplished: Why did I come to LA to win a championship? My first year, I got it done, right? I’m in a corner, sitting on a little bench thing, wherever the thing is in front of the bench. I’m crying. And I’m just sitting there just soaking it all in like, damn, this s— really happened. Like, I’m really an NBA champion.”
“You get the confetti, and you get the champagne in the locker room. Like, my dad’s back there. He’s enjoying. Like, it’s a great time. My family’s there. My wife’s there, my daughter. Like, it was beautiful.”
“You go back home. I go back to LA. I got the trophy with me. I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ But we knew that we weren’t having a parade, right? And that’s the one thing that I missed the most.”
“Like we couldn’t get the full experience of winning a championship when you get the parade, the fans come out, you know, you’re on the stage, and you get to say a speech like you’re drunk, you’re having fun, like whatever it is.”
“And to this day, I think about that, right? Like, man, did I really win a championship? And you hear the noise, which to me is probably the hardest championship to ever, you know, accomplish. But for me, I also feel like I’m a champion, but I don’t really… I want the real experience, right?” admitted the former Lakers star.
“Which is why it’s like I want to compete so bad. I want to compete for a championship so bad because I want to go on the road. I want to go into a Western Conference team’s arena and got to win on the road. You know, I want that,” Davis further added.
“I remember the playoff times in New Orleans and after co the playoff environments in LA, where you know, I mean, we played y’all in New Orleans, and it’s all red in there, and the crowd is loud, and they’re cheering for you and everything like that. So, like I want that, and I’ve never had a chance to experience that in a final situation, right?”
“And for me, you know, it’s like, damn, did I win? Did I not win? Like, I know I’m listed as a champion, but it’s like I’m not sure. So, it motivates me more now to like, you know what, I got to have that opportunity again.”
“Win, lose, or draw, like to be in that experience, in that environment again. like that’s the thing I want most, you know, before it’s all said and done.”
“So, it was a great experience. Look, I got the replica trophy, I got the ring, like I got the pictures, I got the jersey I had, like the goggles, everything. I’m still a champion for sure. But I mean, to be able to do it in, you know, the old-fashioned way is something that I definitely miss and think about a lot,” said the former Lakers star in conclusion.
While Davis may not be happy about the way his time with the Lakers came to an end, he surely recalls his championship run with the franchise fondly. But he also confessed that it did not completely satisfy the winning urge for him, simply because the pandemic did not allow them to celebrate their win conventionally.
Davis still emphasized that if anything, being in the bubble made the championship even harder, but having to work harder than expected and not even get to celebrate as hard surely is a gutting feeling for all the members of that roster.
The former Mavericks center played only 20 games this season due to several injuries, including ligament damage in his left hand, before he was traded to the Wizards. He averaged 20.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 50.6% from the field and 27.0% from beyond the arc.
When the 33-year-old star was on the Mavericks with Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg, a fully healthy roster may have competed for a championship. But with a team like the Wizards, the expectations are much different.
Since he joined the Lakers, Davis seems to have been cursed with one injury after another. If he manages to stay healthy for a whole season with Trae Young on the Wizards, do you think they can compete for a championship in Washington in the future? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
