The upcoming 2019-20 NBA NBA season is one of the most anticipated in recent memory.
With the Los Angeles Lakers adding Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Clippers adding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and the likes of Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, and Kevin Durant all changing teams, the league is seemingly up for grabs this season.
This is especially true in the Western Conference as the Lakers, Clippers, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Golden State Warriors all have designs on a championship. The Lakers will undoubtedly have their work cut out for them, but Davis believes in his new team.
Davis spoke with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports and believes the Lakers have no limit to what they can accomplish as long as they stay healthy:
“If we stay healthy, there’s no limit,” Davis told Yahoo Sports. “We have the team to win a championship. We have the coaching staff to win, but we’ve got to come in with the right mindset and that all starts in training camp all the way through preseason and all the way through the regular season. We have to make sure we come in with the same mindset no matter who we’re playing. It should be about us. Not about the opponent, not about anything else outside the locker room. If we’re all about us and all about what we need to do to win, then we’ll be fine.”
Health will play a major factor and already has for the Lakers with DeMarcus Cousins being lost before training camp. Davis has also dealt with lingering injuries throughout his career while LeBron James is coming off the first major injury of his career.
Davis is expected to be at the forefront for this Lakers team with James himself saying he wants the new Laker to be the focal point of the offense. For his part, Davis says he’s ready for the season to kick off:
“I’m ready, man,” Davis told Yahoo Sports. “At the end of the day, it’s basketball, and God gave me the ability to play this game at a high level. Obviously, it’s a lot different. The market is a lot different, the media is a lot different, the atmosphere is a lot different. But at the end of the day, when you step between those lines, something I’ve been doing for 23 years of life, it’s just basketball. I’m excited about the challenge, I’m excited for the opportunity and I can’t wait to get started.”
When a team has Anthony Davis and LeBron James — arguably two of the five best players in the league — it immediately raised the expectations. The Lakers did a solid job of building a team around the two and though there are some questions, there is little debate the Lakers have a team capable of competing for a championship.
If everyone is on the same page, focused, and fighting towards the same goal, Davis could be right that there is no limit to what the Lakers can accomplish this season.
