As the calendar shifted from 2020 to 2021, plenty were understandably ready to move past what was one of the most difficult years in recent memory. While the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic dominated the headlines, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers gave fans something positive to look back on by winning the NBA championship, despite having to do so from a fan-less bubble in Orlando, Florida.
In 2021, the Lakers will try to repeat as champions, but this time they’ll strive to get the job done in an empty arena instead of a silent gym. Meanwhile, the rest of the world will figure out what they learned and what can be done better from 2020 to 2021.
Davis is certainly one of those people who learned valuable lessons. “There’s a lot of sadness in the world,” he said. “Obviously we’ll all remember it because of the coronavirus, but from a basketball standpoint, it will be the year I won my first championship. A year that I reached a milestone in my career and improved a lot.
“But from a life standpoint, a year that caused so much pain and heartache for the world. A year that everyone is rushing to get over with and start ’21. But also we learned a lot from this year, at least I did. Just from always checking in with your family, love your family. Any bickering or whatever that you have, just squash it because you never know what could happen.
“I think a lot of people in the world just live by that. Loving your family more, loving the people around them, and anything that can be fixed, just trying to fix it. So many people lost their lives to the virus. It’s a year everyone will try to forget from a day-to-day basis, but for me, on the basketball side, it was a year I won my championship and will always be remembered in that sense.”
While we all certainly hope for a better 2021, Davis believes that there are some valuable takeaways from a difficult year. That goes beyond basketball, where Davis finally broke through his playoff struggles and became an NBA champion. It seems 2020 — while memorable for many bad reasons — may have some positives in Davis’ eyes.
Davis missing Lakers fans while on the road
After the first road game of the season against the San Antonio Spurs, Davis spoke about how he especially misses Lakers fans away from Staples Center. The Lakers are known for having fans that take over road arenas, and the pandemic has taken that advantage away.
“You’re used to hearing that fan noise from Lakers Nation on the road. It wasn’t there, so it’s a little different for us not having our support system with us on the road,” Davis said.
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