Getty Anthony Davis and LeBron James
Officially announced as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers during his introductory press conference with the team, Anthony Davis has his sights set on a championship. Looking to build on the Lakers’ incredibly strong legacy that is already in place and possessing some of the greatest individual skill sets the basketball world has seen – Anthony Davis has the opportunity to etch his name among the great Laker big men.
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Anthony Davis Shares Thoughts on Lakers’ Roster
During his press conference, Davis gave a brief insight into how he feels the Lakers’ roster stacks up against the rest of the league.
“I like our roster. I like every player that we have.” Davis added, “I’ll put our roster up against anybody.”
Along with his superstar partner in LeBron James, the Lakers also were able to hang onto Kyle Kuzma – who both he and Frank Vogel felt would be a versatile and dynamic scoring weapon. In free agency, the Lakers hung onto JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope while bringing on big names like DeMarcus Cousins, Danny Green, and Avery Bradley among others.
Davis has played with both Cousins and Rondo previously in New Orleans where the two big men dominated alongside one another. The two big men have natural chemistry playing alongside one another and Rondo’s pass-first mentality often resulted in incredibly high assist totals from the veteran guard. Davis was able to take the Cousins-less version of the Pelicans to the playoffs and factoring in a healthy DeMarcus Cousins and LeBron James into the equation, the Lakers look to have more than just a playoff-ready core.
LeBron James & Anthony Davis Lakers Fit
Head coach Frank Vogel repeatedly talked about how LeBron and Davis’ games compliment one another – on paper, he isn’t wrong. While we really haven’t seen much sample size outside of the All-Star game of the two playing together, both James and Davis have the ability to command double teams nearly every time they get close to the basket. With teams having two bonafide superstars that they need to account for every second of each offensive possession, James and Davis should actually find themselves getting even easier looks at the rim.
Playing in the two-man pick and roll game, Davis and James could be a nearly unstoppable duo forcing defenses into a ‘pick your poison’ scenario and Davis’ ability to handle and pass the basketball should make for some unique sets to find LeBron for easy looks.
On top of everything else, Davis’ athleticism allows him to fly up and down the court, making him an incredibly dangerous transition weapon for LeBron to find for easy lobs and finishes down low. LeBron has never had a big man as talented as Davis to play alongside and while it may take some time learning to play with one another, James could help to unlock the deadliest version of Davis that the league has seen yet.
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