Anthony Davis has been playing some of his best basketball of the 2024-25 season as of late, but he might have outdone himself after dominating in the Los Angeles Lakers’ win against the Charlotte Hornets.
Davis set season-highs in points and rebounds, recording 42 points and 23 rebounds and with half of it coming in the first quarter to boot.
Head coach JJ Redick is making good on his promise to feature Davis more, while LeBron James has naturally fit in around him.
After the win against Charlotte, James acknowledged that hid co-star led them via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Just locked in and dominant from start to finish. Obviously the first quarter, double-double in the first quarter. He carried us tonight in our first game on the East Coast and listen, it was everything. He had it all going.”
Redick echoed James’ comments and praised Davis’ all-around performance:
“He put in two days of work tonight. Twenty-one and 11 in the first quarter I think it was and 21 and 12 the rest of the way. Just carried us all night. We moved him around, he played with force. I thought his hands and touch and just the pursuit of the basketball on the offensive glass, all that stuff was just awesome tonight.”
Redick also explained how they’ve been able to get the big man the basketball on the move more consistently:
“We’ve been good with it. AD on the move in the pocket is really good. Golden State gave us a huge pocket, Mark Williams started the game in a deep drop. But more so than just what we were running was how he was playing and getting down the court early, creating mismatches. When they did Red the LeBron-AD pick-and-roll, it wasn’t just OK, I’m gonna go down and LeBron is gonna iso and we’ll get back on defense. It was I have a mismatch, I can be on the offensive glass. So I think just the force that he played with all night was fantastic.”
Charlotte isn’t a defensive juggernaut by any stretch, but Davis once again showed that he belongs in the conversation for best big man in the game.
Anthony Davis emphasizes he and LeBron James are still motivated to win titles
The regular season has gone about as well as the Lakers could have hoped for as they’re in the playoff mix and have had Anthony Davis and James healthy. The two superstars remain one of the best duos in the league and Davis made sure to emphasize that he and James are still motivated to win titles.
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