There have been a lot of ups and downs since LeBron James and Anthony Davis joined forces on the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2019. The two brought home an NBA Championship in their first year together, but the ensuing years were marred with injury and disappointment.
This season looked to be more of the same, but Davis and James were able to finally turn things around, stay on the court, and the result was the Lakers making a run to the Western Conference Finals. Now with the offseason approaching and many questions surrounding the Lakers’ roster, Davis admits they don’t know what the team will look like next year, but whoever is here has to come in with that right mindset.
“We don’t know what our group is going to look like,” Davis said following the Lakers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets. “A lot of our guys are free agents. So who knows? That’s a tough question. We don’t know what team we have next year. But whatever it is, whoever we have coming to training camp with the mindset of building that chemistry, building that foundation, me and LeBron setting the tone, trying to get back here and further. I think we are more than capable of doing so. We’ve just got to do it.”
James and Davis proved that they can still be a dominant force when healthy together, but with LeBron now completing his 20th NBA season, it is unclear how much longer the Lakers’ championship window remains open. But Davis still believes and knows he has to be better if they have any chance of making another run.
“No, I mean, we still believe, obviously. Obviously, it’s always a window,” Davis added. “You don’t have too many times where you compete for championships. He’s lucky he won eight times in a row in the East. I have to do a better job of helping him out in that regard for myself, my own self looking into the mirror.
“Yeah, we know the window is always small and obviously he’s not getting any younger. You know, this is why this was so important to both of us, and it hurts that we didn’t get it done. But you know, we regroup, figure out ways we can be better. Figure out ways I can be better, more consistent for our ballclub and we come back next year ready to go.”
The ultimate goal is always to win a championship and the Lakers failed to reach that. But there were questions about even being a playoff team earlier this year and Davis and the Lakers shut that down emphatically. Health has been the key and Davis’ belief has not wavered in that if the right pieces are around himself and LeBron, the Lakers can beat anyone.
“For sure, and the last two seasons, not including this year, you know, either I’ve been hurt or he’s been hurt or we’ve both been injured,” Davis noted. “So, you know for the most part, we were healthy through the second half of the year, and we were able to make it to the Western Conference Finals. Like I said, it’s not the end goal, but we believed that both of us together were a dominant force, and you plug guys around us, and we can make it happen.
“We believe that — we don’t really look for any support outside of anybody outside that locker room and the front office and the organization. We believe, and that’s all that really matters.”
The Lakers have a lot of decisions to make regarding the roster this summer, but as long as Anthony Davis and LeBron James are on the court and healthy, the Lakers will still take their chances against any team in the league.
Lakers’ Anthony Davis says there’s no moral victories in loss to Nuggets
The Lakers’ turnaround from the beginning of the season to making the Western Conference Finals was something no one could have predicted. And the Lakers had a chance in every game against the Nuggets, but Davis was in no mood for those positive spins immediately after the season ended.
“Don’t really do moral victories or anything like that,” Davis said. “We play to win championships. Obviously came up short there on the fence. So, it’s tough. But as the days go on, the weeks go on, you kind of think about it and kind of talk about it from there.”
Davis also spoke on the many ways he knows he can be better and there is no doubt he will put in all the necessary work to return next season better than ever.
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