The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping Anthony Davis continues to emerge as the team’s definitive No. 1 option over LeBron James in Year 22. Davis has high expectations of himself, as made clear during a media availability session following practice on Sunday, where the 32-year-old spoke about his intention to dominate games this season and embrace his role as a leader on the Lakers.
“Being aggressive down the floor, being dominant every game. Just doing my job, doing my part, we’ve gotta do what we’ve gotta do. Taking on the matchups defensively, taking on a role offensively, being a leader of the team, carrying us in games and the Playoffs, whatever it takes.”
“We can’t rely heavily on our individual games. Obviously it’s a team effort, what we’re trying to build. But for me personally, I’m taking it on myself to make sure I’m even better than what I was last year.”
Davis averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 55.6% from the field last season, being named to the All-NBA Second Team.
It was his first season alongside LeBron where he was definitively the better player on the franchise, as James averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists. making the All-NBA Third Team behind Davis. Despite their combined performances, the team was the No. 7 seed and was eliminated in the first round of the Playoffs.
Davis is putting a lot of onus on himself to be an even better version of the player we saw last season, with a major offensive improvement being what he needs to finally realize his potential as a top-three player in the NBA.
If Davis can perform at that level with LeBron as the second option, the Lakers might surprise a lot of people just like they did in the 2023 Playoffs.
Anthony Davis Is Willing To Shoot More Threes
Davis was not an outside threat for the Lakers last season, converting just 27.1% of his shots on 1.4 attempts per game. He has been a far more willing shooter in preseason as Davis has averaged 4.25 attempts per game on 29.4% efficiency through the four games he played.
His outside stroke was affected by his increased responsibilities at center for the Lakers in the last three seasons, but it seems shooting will once again be a focus area for Davis under new head. coach JJ Redick. He discussed the same at practice.
“I shoot a lot of them in practice. At the end of one practice, he [JJ Redick] was in front of the group. He said you shoot them in practice but we need you to shoot them in the games. After I shot nine in Phoenix. . .he said it again,” Davis said. “He’s constantly on me, and not just him, D’Lo, AR, Bron, everybody. They tell me to shoot more, I’m gonna let it fly. I might shoot 15 this season.”
Davis made four threes in the first quarter in the Lakers’ final preseason game against the Phoenix Suns, dominating offensively with a 35-point and 10-rebound performance in 33 minutes.
If Davis is a more reliable outside shooter, the Lakers can commit to playing another center alongside him and finally putting the nine-time All-Star in a position to dominate individually and lead the Lakers to wins.
