When healthy, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis has proven to be one of the most effective in the NBA. At their best, this remains a duo capable of leading a team to a championship as they have proven in the past.
Injuries and other issues have made the last couple of seasons a struggle for all parties, but this season seemed to show a bit of dissension between Davis and LeBron. Most noticeable to many on the outside looking in was Davis’ lack of reaction to LeBron becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
The body language during that moment led many to believe that Davis was tired of being LeBron’s teammate, but in an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Davis insisted that those on the outside missed the other factors at play and that he and James are just fine:
What the cameras missed, Davis said, was him trudging to the Crypto.com Arena tunnel by the bench shortly before the record-setting shot to let out a scream of frustration after seeing his team muddle through another uninspiring night against a middling opponent, knowing every game would matter down the stretch. By the time Davis came back to the court, he said he was in a bit of a daze and unaware James’ history-making possession was unfolding.
“From the outside looking in, they don’t know,” Davis said of his perceived bad body language. “It’s not for them to know seriously, but me and Bron are fine. You can tell when we had our moments, for sure. But I think it’s people just looking for a story.”
Furthermore, Davis called his relationship with LeBron one of the best in the league and that people don’t see all of the off-court things the Lakers stars do together:
“Me and Bron have one of the best relationships I think in the NBA as far as duos or teammates, regardless,” Davis said. “But they don’t see that. They don’t see the stuff we do off the court and time we hang out with each other. They see on-court stuff.”
There was certainly a time during the season when Davis’ body language was noticeable and it was understandable why some would look into it. But Davis is right in that there is only so much those on the outside can see, especially when it comes to off-court things. Davis and James have developed a true friendship and bond both on and off the court.
Now, the goal is to get both of them back on the court together and healthy. The Lakers’ chance at success this season is dependent on Davis and James showing that they are still the NBA’s top duo and with the team still in a very tight Western Conference playoff race, there is no room for mistakes.
‘Optimism’ LeBron James could return for Lakers’ final few regular season games
The question now is when James and Davis will be back on the court together as the former remains out due to injury. There is no doubt LeBron is doing everything possible to get back on the court and there is still a belief that he could return before the end of the regular season.
Recent reports say that James has begun on-court activity and there is ‘optimism’ that he could return for the Lakers’ final few regular season games. LeBron himself however, pushed back on there being any sort of timeline for his return, simply noting that he is doing everything he can to return at full strength.
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