In his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis helped lead the team back to the NBA Finals after an outstanding series against the Denver Nuggets.
Despite his lack of postseason experience, Davis was able to raise his game to another level and is in good position to win capture his first championship. His defensive awareness is off the charts, but Davis’ offensive game has also picked up, particularly in the midrange area.
The on- and off-court chemistry has been a strength for the team and with it comes the ability to be critical of a player when something is wrong or not being executed correctly. Despite his status as a star on the roster, Davis revealed that everyone is able to take responsibility and self-correct when needed.
“This group’s IQ level is very high. Guys hold each other accountable. It really doesn’t even come from the coaches. If a player messes up, another player gets on him, no matter who it is,” Davis said.
“Dudley is really the guy who sits back and watches a lot of the games. And during the games he kind of critiques and looks at what’s going on on the floor and kind of calls guys out. He called me out, he called ‘Bron out, Rondo. It doesn’t matter.
“And when we got guys like that who want to win, who want to help, it makes it a lot easier for us. It makes you want to go out there and play hard and do the right thing for the guys because you have a group of guys who are in it for the right reasons and who are not selfish and who just wants to win, whether you’re playing or not.
“This team is special, and you don’t get a group of guys who are able to do things like that, or some guys on some teams are in it for selfish reasons and things like that. But this group of guys for sure only want one thing, and that’s to win a championship. Whatever it takes, we, as players hold each other accountable and hold ourselves to a higher standard.”
When you have stars like Davis and LeBron James who share a close relationship and are not afraid to get on each other, that sets the tone for the rest of the team.
With the Lakers only four wins away from a title, that level of accountability can not be taken for granted.
Davis admits he argues with LeBron
With every sibling-like relationship, there are bound to be moments of tension. For Davis and James, they are usually shown laughing and joking around but the big man revealed they have their share of tense situations.
“You know, we may not show it on a bench yelling at each other or things like that, but we definitely have our moments where we argue and we have,” Davis said. “I don’t think anybody saw last game, me and ‘Bron kind of got into it.
“But it’s coming from the right place, and we got guys like that who hold each other accountable and just want to win. It makes it fun and you know that guys are in it for the right reasons.”
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