Getty Anthony Davis & LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Perhaps more so than any other team in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to compete for championships every year. This is a big reason they were able to land talents like LeBron James and Anthony Davis. While Davis is only under contract for this season and hasn’t committed to the team long-term, there’s been no indication he’s going anywhere.
A big reason nobody expects him to leave is his strong relationship with LeBron. Though he hasn’t said anything definitive about his future in Los Angeles, he recently had some eye-opening comments about his teammate.
“You see the work and preparation LeBron puts in every day, and you understand why this is his 10th NBA Finals appearance. He never stops. I plan to follow this motherf***** to hopefully nine more Finals,” Davis said, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “We’re all ready to go.”
It’s highly unlikely LeBron is headed anywhere anytime soon so if Davis wants to go to “nine more Finals” with him, he’s going to be Laker for a long time.
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Davis Wants Championships
As soon as Davis was traded to the Lakers, they went from NBA bottom-dwellers to contenders overnight. However, a lot of teams take time before they’re ready to compete for the championship. That wasn’t the case for Los Angeles as they’ve progressed very quickly. The step to championship contention is exactly what Davis was hoping for when he came to the team.
“My thing from the beginning was that I have to get to the playoffs. I’ve got to give myself and my team a chance at the postseason,” Davis said, per Haynes. “Once I experienced that, I was like, ‘I need to get to the second round.’ That took a few years, and then I wanted more. I wanted to advance past the second round. If you want to be great, you have to contend for championships and that’s why I’m relishing this opportunity in front of me. I had a three-year gap in between playoffs. That was tough, but I want championships, not [periodic] playoff appearances.”
Davis came to the right place to win titles and he could be on the cusp of winning his first one. If he decides to stick with the team, he could start adding a number of trophies to his mantle.
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Davis Doesn’t Want Gap Between Finals Appearances
Unless your name is LeBron James, it’s hard to get to the NBA Finals. Some of the best players ever have only gotten there a couple of times. Davis doesn’t want to be one of those players.
“I don’t want to have long gaps in between Finals,” Davis said. “You look at [Rajon Rondo], he’s 10 years removed from his last Finals, and Dwight [Howard] is 11 years out. I don’t want that to happen to me. I want to be here. I came to Los Angeles to contend for championships and I’ve put in the work to do so.”
Teaming up with LeBron is a great way to increase your chances of getting to the Finals and the Lakers should be contenders as long as they have their duo intact.
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