LeBron James and Anthony Davis have staked their claim early on as one of the NBA’s best duos — if not the best — and it has led to a great start for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers are 9-2 through 11 games of the 2019-20 NBA season and have looked great in the majority of the games — regardless of result.
How the Lakers look directly correlates with how Davis and James play with one another. As a duo that includes two top-five NBA players, the team will naturally rise and fall with them and it seems that has been a positive thing so far. When James and Davis are on the court together, the Lakers have an offensive rating of 111.4 and a defensive rating of 96.8.
The two players spoke about their fast developing chemistry with Davis saying he was surprised how well things have gone so far considering the Lakers shortened training camp and summer obligations like Space Jam 2, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN:
“I didn’t think we were going to be able to connect this fast just because of the fact he had a lot of stuff going on this summer with ‘Space Jam [2],’ so we didn’t get a lot of time to work out together,” Davis said. “Then we hit a short training camp and had to go to China, and all that stuff, so I’m surprised that we’ve got a little connection right now.”
James also spoke about what’s been going well for the duo so far, saying the chemistry will continue to grow as they spend more time together and that having the same goal has made for an organic connection:
“I think it’s getting better and better as the days go on, just like with any relationship,” James said. “The relationship on the court, the relationship off the floor. The more and more time you spend together, if you guys have the same goals in mind, you have the same drive, then it organically happens.”
It’s a scary thought that Davis and James’ chemistry has as much room to improve as it does since the two already look even more terrifying than originally thought.
If the two can continue to develop their chemistry like they say, then by the time the 2020 NBA playoffs come around, this Lakers team could be a scary sight for other teams.
For now, the focus will be on building that chemistry and staying healthy in a long 82-game season.