Before ever stepping foot on an NBA floor, Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis was an absolute star at the University of Kentucky under head coach John Calipari. Davis dominated the college ranks, leading the Wildcats to a National Championship in 2012 and that place has always remained special to him.
Unfortunately, tragedy recently struck the state of Kentucky as a massive storm caused historic floods to sweep through parts of the state leading to the deaths of at least 35 people with many others still missing. But in times of hurt is when you see the true heart of people and Davis is doing his part to help that community.
Calipari took to social media on Tuesday night, noting that while he didn’t want to ask any of his former players for help, Davis reached out to him and offered $350,000 to the Kentucky Flood Relief:
This is what makes you proud as a coach.
I didn’t want to ask any of our former guys for help since six months ago they gave to the tornado victims in west Kentucky, but without my asking, @AntDavis23 got in touch with me tonight. pic.twitter.com/DQn3EGEDcM
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) August 3, 2022
After watching all of the devastation and, knowing what our players did tonight – he has offered to give $350,000 to the Kentucky Flood Relief.
That’s servant leadership in action, that’s staying connected to this program and this state.
Love you, Ant.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) August 3, 2022
Arguing and debating what players do on the court will go on forever, but it is the acts that these players do off the court that truly give you a sense of what they are all about. For Davis to do this to help out the victims of this tragic disaster really shows everyone what type of man he is and where his values lie. It also shows the connection that he has maintained with Kentucky even though he only played one season there.
In just a couple of months, all of the talk around Davis will be strictly on basketball and what he can bring to the Lakers. But this act affects far more lives than anything he could ever do on a basketball court.
Davis ‘working out with increased diligence’ since June
In terms of on the court, Davis caused quite a stir earlier this summer when he revealed that he hadn’t touched a basketball since the end of the Lakers’ season. But considering all the backlash, Davis would quickly remedy that.
Davis has reportedly been ‘working out with increased diligence’ since then, most notably working with famed shooting coach Chris Matthews aka Lethal Shooter and will surely be looking to remind everyone of the player who helped bring the Lakers a championship in 2020.
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