Lakers News: Anthony Davis First Player To Win 4 Major Basketball Trophies

Damian Burchardt
3 Min Read
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Davis showed in many ways how unique a player he is in his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, ending it with the first NBA title of his career.

But there now is another accolade that can attest to his special talent and skill. After winning the championship with L.A., Davis has become the first player ever to collect all four major basketball trophies.

Aside from his NBA title, the All-Star forward owns an Olympic gold medal and has triumphed in the FIBA Basketball World Cup as well as the NCAA Tournament — something no player has done before.

Davis was named the NCAA Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player when he led Kentucky to the collegiate championship in 2012.

The same year, and even before making his NBA debut, he was part of the 2012 United States men’s Olympic basketball team where he grew close to Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. Davis played in seven of the eight games, averaging 7.6 minutes and 3.7 points.

Two years later, he won the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup hosted by Spain, and was among head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s starters during the tournament.

Only eight players have won three of the four outlined above, including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Andre Igoudala. Neither of the three have an NCAA title on their resumé.

Despite his success with the Lakers, Davis is yet to commit his future to L.A. after saying he would take time to think about his contract negotiations. Though, that has since been followed by a report that he would re-sign after declining a player option for 2020-21.

Davis appears on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’

After winning the 2020 NBA title, many players were invited to talk about their experience from the Orlando bubble.

Jared Dudley appeared on the “Bill Simmons Podcast” and head coach Frank Vogel was a guest on “The Lowe Post” with Zach Lowe. Meanwhile, Davis was invited on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

The forward talked about Bryant’s mentorship that began when the pair bonded during the 2012 Olympic Games. He also pointed out that the triumph in the bubble was an emotional journey in big part thanks to his dad’s presence on the Walt Disney World campus.

Kimmel also asked Davis about his free agency plans and then tried to convince him to stay in L.A.

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Damian Burchardt is a sports writer who has covered basketball, soccer, and many other disciplines for numerous U.K. and U.S. media outlets, including The Independent, The Guardian, The Sun, The Berkshire Eagle, The Boston Globe, and The Ringer.
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