Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers waits to enter the game during a 123-120 win over the LA Clippers.
In the wake of David Griffin’s bombshell comments regarding his and LeBron James‘ time together on the Cleveland Cavaliers, a number of people – including Griffin himself – have come out to downplay the severity of his comments. In particular, the comment regarding James’ lack of desire following the 2016 Cleveland championship seems to have rubbed the King and those around him the wrong way – as did the odd timing of Griffin’s comments.
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Magic Johnson Defends Lakers’ LeBron James After David Griffin Comments
Laker Nation, I can tell you firsthand that LeBron James is committed to bringing a championship back to LA. He promised the people of Ohio he would bring a championship to Cleveland and he accomplished his mission.
Former Lakers president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, was one of the biggest names to publicly come to LeBron’s defense – and one that has a firsthand understanding of LeBron’s desire to win. Citing how LeBron’s commitment in leading another franchise to a title ended up with the 2016 Cavaliers win, Johnson told Laker fans to stay the course as the King is undoubtedly committed to bringing a championship back to the purple and gold.
Johnson was one of the biggest factors in assuring LeBron James that the Lakers were a viable landing spot during his free agency and while no longer an official member of the Lakers front office, played a role in trying to land Kawhi Leonard this year. As he is no longer officially involved with the team, Johnson is free to speak his mind – make no mistake, he has – and if LeBron’s attitude or lack of commitment to winning were an issue in his eyes, there is a good chance he would have aired it out around the same time he put Rob Pelinka on blast.
LeBron James & Anthony Davis Set to Terrorize the NBA
LeBron James has never quite had a teammate like Anthony Davis and vice versa. While LeBron has played with a number of elite talents like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, none of those players share the same raw level of talent that Anthony Davis brings to the table. Listed at 6’10” but likely closer to 7’0″, Davis has the size and strength of a big man with the handles and shooting touch of a guard. Still only heading into his age 26 season, Davis has already shown to be one of the (if not THE) league’s most dominant interior two-way forces and likely has some room left to grow. Playing alongside James, Davis should see an unprecedented number of easy looks near the rim given James’ unrivaled ability to collapse defenses and find the open man.
For LeBron, he has never had a pick and roll weapon quite like Anthony Davis. While Bosh and Love were both extremely good big men before joining up with LeBron, neither had quite the run of dominance Davis has seen and instead morphed more into floor spacing third options for LeBron. Instead, Davis will be tasked with playing a heavy dose of the two-man game with LeBron as his elite athleticism allows him to be the easiest lob target on rolls to the rim that LeBron has ever played with.
On paper, the two men’s games should complement one another’s perfectly and the Lakers could be set to be the beneficiaries of a huge bounce-back season from both of the superstars.