From the moment Anthony Davis was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2019 the pressure was on he and LeBron James to lead the team not only back into the playoffs, but into the NBA Finals.
The pair is viewed as both the present and future of the franchise, and how they interacted with one another would be closely watched for the entire season. Thankfully for the Lakers the two developed an excellent chemistry quicker than anyone could have imagined and have been on the same page all year.
Davis and James seem legitimately close, almost like brothers, which goes a long way towards explaining the way they view their relationship. “I don’t know, you’ve seen the movie “Step Brothers” before. Well, there it is,” James said.
“I just wanted to put myself kind of in his position. Sometimes what I would be thinking at that age and if I was with someone in the later stage of their career, I just don’t want to let them down. And I’m not even talking on the floor, because there’s things that sometimes they go in, they don’t go in.
“But as far as, I don’t want to say a role model, but someone that holds myself to a higher standard as far as character. I don’t want to let them down. And then, it’s funny because it’s kind of rubbed off on me as well because he doesn’t want to let me down.”
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly have plenty of chemistry, LeBron comparing his friendship with Davis to arguably their most popular movie makes a lot of sense.
In the movie itself Ferrell and Reilly’s characters despise each other initially, but eventually become best friends. “I’m Will Ferrell, for sure. I get on his nerves a lot,” James added. “I go in and mess with his drums and he’s not watching. Yeah, that’s me. I get on his nerves a lot.”
For his part, Davis signed off on the parallel James drew. “Me and him are very close. He could be Will Ferrell. He leads the team, he’s in charge of the group,” he said.
“He’s been here several times, and I’m the guy that comes in and try to fit in and doing it my own way until he comes in and get everything together for us and make us one. So he’s a great guy to be along with, and if he wants to be Will Ferrell, then that’s fine.
“But as long as he gives me four more wins, then, you know, I’ll be cool with that.”
However the relationship between the two works, there’s no doubt that it has been as good or even better than the Lakers could have imagined. The two constantly push each other to greater heights and with that happening, there has been no force able to stop the Lakers from accomplishing their goals for the season.
LeBron reveals message to AD
If the two are something like brothers, James is obviously the elder, being eight years the elder of Davis. While James is entering his 10th NBA Finals, this is the first trip for Davis and both would be accomplishing major goals if the Lakers finish off this run.
With LeBron having so much experience it only makes sense that he would offer plenty of advice to Davis on this road and there is one piece that he deemed the most important.
“No matter if you’re up, no matter if you’re down, being able to keep your composure and your mindset on the main thing is very important,” he said. “This is the furthest he’s gone in his career up to this point. I’m just happy to be here with him to give him any advice and lean on me.”
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