If the Los Angeles Lakers plan on winning the NBA Championship, superstar big man Anthony Davis is going to have to be a dominant force on both ends of the court. But most importantly, Davis is going to have to stay on the court for the majority of the season.
Davis’ injury history is well-known at this point, but when healthy, as he was down the stretch of last season, the Lakers big man reminded everyone just how talented he is. Davis is undoubtedly harder on himself than anyone else is and his frustration at having to miss games is very real.
Now coming into this season, Davis has set the goal of being on the court for every Lakers game in the 2023-24 season.
“I mean, it’s my goal every year to play 82, and I didn’t do anything differently,” Davis said. “I took some time off. Got back in the lab and am ready to get started. Nothing’s changed. Every year you want to come out and play every game and help the team win, especially my role, I know it’s a big piece of this team, and with me being on the floor, it definitely helps us.”
Davis isn’t lying when he says it is his goal every year as the Lakers big man made the same proclamation prior to last year. While his 56 games played were the most he’s played since his first season in L.A. it still fell well short of his overall goal as he missed a large chunk of time due to a foot injury.
After signing a new max contract extension, the pressure for Davis to produce consistently at a superstar level will be at an all-time high. He has been inconsistent at times with his aggression on the offensive end and the Lakers need him to dominate on a nightly basis. Davis sounds as if he is ready to do that and even if he doesn’t play all 82 games, being anywhere close to that number would be a great success.
LeBron James says Anthony Davis is the face of the Lakers franchise
Since Davis joined the Lakers franchise, the hope and belief is that he will take over as the leader of the team from LeBron James and be the face of the team. For his part, LeBron believes Davis is already the face of the Lakers.
At Lakers Media Day, James said that Davis is the face of the franchise and that he belongs in the discussion with all of the other Lakers greats whose jerseys hang in the rafters.
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