Getty LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers
With LeBron James‘ future with the Los Angeles Lakers uncertain with a $51.4 million player option he may or may not pick in the summer, his co-star Anthony Davis is sure of one thing.
They will play together this summer regardless of what James will do with his player option.
Davis revealed that he plans to play for Team USA.
“I want to make a cameo,” Davis initially joked before turning serious during his NBA All-Star media availability on February 17. “No, I told the USA committee if they ask me to go, I’ll go.”
The 30-year-old Davis is willing to risk injury and forego resting in the offseason as he enters next season without the guarantee that James will stay.
James and Davis were named in the 41-player pool for Team USA’s quest to defend the Olympic gold.
The 39-year-old James has been plotting his last run with Team USA in Paris since after the nationals, led by B-stars and role players, failed to win a medal in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
James already won two golds and one bronze in his past three Olympic stints. Davis, on the other hand, has one gold, winning together with James in the 2012 London Olympics.
Warriors Will Not Give up in LeBron James’ Pursuit
James’ commitment with the Lakers somehow got clarity when he rebuffed the Golden State Warriors‘ trade interest.
However, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported that the Warriors will not give up easily and will try again this summer.
“The playoffs always inform the offseason. Everything I’ve heard for five years suggests James would prefer to finish his career as a Laker. Is that absolute? Who knows. There could be some breaking point at which the Lakers fall so far that James begins to look elsewhere. But the Lakers have one title and a conference finals appearance over the past four seasons. They will be able to trade three first-round picks this summer, and league sources expect them to search for a difference-making perimeter talent. That does not mean the Warriors will give up their pursuit of James,” Lowe wrote on February 16.
Aside from the Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers, who will have the cap space to sign James outright in the offseason, also inquired and was immediately rejected at the past trade deadline.
Kevin Durant Weighs in on LeBron James’ Greatness
In a 60-minute sit-down interview with “Boardroom” which dropped ahead of James’ historic 20th NBA All-Star appearance, Kevin Durant hit on the Lakers superstar’s legacy.
“When you hit 39 in your 20th year in the league like half your life is in the [NBA] and then you played against like 40% of the players has ever played in the league, that longevity has to me something,” Durant said. “That has to be a standard.
I truly appreciate somebody who has been in a [expletive] for a long time. You don’t get it until you hit like 15, 16 years in the league how hard it is to wake up every day, knowing what you know, and still come to work and still have to mesh with other people who are just experiencing this for the first time or don’t know as much as you know, you still get up and want to work as hard as you can be the best teammate and workers.
That’s greatness to me, and that’s what I appreciate about LeBron and I overlooked and underestimated when it comes to him. His enthusiasm and love for the game of basketball and it’s that simple.”
James, 39, remains as one of the NBA’s best players — averaging 24.8 points, 7.8 assists and 7.2 rebounds — and the league’s top draw.