At the end of the day, Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis wants to be remembered for being a winner.
The Los Angeles Lakers most recent acquisition, Anthony Davis, is already setting the bar extremely high. He has made it known that he does not care a lot about how well-stocked his bank account is.
Contrarily, Davis does care about has well-stocked something else is. That one thing is his trophy collection per the fact that he badly wants to win hardware with the Lakers.
To be clear, AD does not seem to particularly care about winning awards like MVPs. While he probably would not object to that, the big man badly wants to win it all.
Albeit the trade is not technically official yet, knowing this is the way Davis is wired is encouraging for the purple and gold. The Brow recently conversed with Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times, and was sure to accentuate his primary ambition at the time being.
"“My goal is to win a championship,” Davis said. “I expect to win every time I step on the court, every game. I want to win a title. That’s what it’s about — winning titles. That’s the only thing on my mind.”"
Davis further emphasized his point by saying what others tend to remember athletes by. Sure, money is nice, but fans certainly want to see players hoisting up the Larry O’Brien prize in June.
"“Anthony Davis is not going to be a great basketball player because of the amount of money he makes, it’s going to be about what he achieved on the court and also off the court. That’s all part of my legacy, and I think that’s way more valuable than any monetary value.”"
The former Pelican raised an excellent point when referencing the dichotomy that exists when value is considered. Of course, in the minds of some, chasing tangible value has it perks. Nevertheless, there is a shallow side of going after money.
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Real value is found when the bigger picture is mulled over. Davis is more concerned with what he can accomplish as a member of the Lakers.
Without a doubt, Davis has a great chance at making something special happen. Given that he will be teaming up with LeBron James, the sky is the limit for the 16-time champions.
Speaking of James, he and AD appear to already be on good terms at this juncture. Not too long ago, The King reportedly agreed to give up his No. 23 jersey to Davis, who has worn said number his whole career.
In the minds of some, such a thing may seem petty in nature. However, it demonstrates James’ desire to make Davis feel as cozy as possible in Los Angeles. There is no denying that.
AD went on to inform the Los Angeles Times that LeBron and Michael Jordan were the two players he looked up to while growing up. Ergo, donning No. 23 is something he treasures.
"“Being from Chicago, Jordan had 23 and he was my favorite basketball player for a while… Obviously, Jordan wore it and me being younger, watching LeBron, that number just stuck with me. It was definitely exciting to know I had that number to follow Jordan and LeBron, who wore that number as well.”"
In a sense, the 6-10 baller has already returned the favor. Via Sam Cooper of Yahoo Sports, Davis waived his $4 million trade kicker. In doing so, the Lakers have sufficient cap space to sign someone to a max contract.
Certainly, this is another way of Davis proving that all he wants to do is win world titles. Of course, whether the Lakers sign a guy to a max contract or not, it gives the team more wiggle room to work with this summer.
This is crucial because the Lakers currently have numerous vacancies to address. As of when this was written, other than AD and LeBron, the only other players under their control are Kyle Kuzma and newbie Talen Horton-Tucker.
As NBA.com recently revealed, Davis initially wanted to leave the Pelicans before the All-Star break. While the Lakers aggressively attempted to make something happen as of then, the Pelicans’ trade demands were asinine.
Consequently, trade talks ceased, and the Lakers’ season ended poorly. Team morale lowered significantly because most guys did not feel they were truly part of the Lakers going forward.
As a result of the trade request, the latter part of AD’s 2018-2019 season was bizarre at best. As Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report indicated, the Pelicans put a limit on their star’s minutes.
Needless to say, this put the former Kentucky standout in a precarious position. He still had the desire to be on the court, but New Orleans wanted to keep him on the bench to ensure his health remained intact. Understandably, they wanted to accrue as much value for him as possible this summer.
Conway went on to share AD’s thoughts on how the Pelicans treated him (originally via the LA Times). Suffice to say, Davis was not happy he was not able to play much, namely in the later portion of games.
"“It was different. Being limited to 20 to 25 minutes was definitely different. Not being able to play in the fourth quarter and close out games was a little hard for me. I wanted to go out there and help the team win. I just want to play again. I was limited last season and now I’m looking forward to getting back on the floor and being productive next year.”"
Granted Davis’ Lakers do not have many players under contract, it is nice to see how zealous his attitude is. He clearly wants to get back to all things basketball and give his team a shot at getting a lot of W’s.
That being said, expect the talented center to play with a chip on his shoulder next season. His season (in a slight way) ended prematurely via the minutes restriction factor. Thus, there will definitely be a metaphorical fire lit beneath him.
Markazi’s piece also delved into some more lighthearted matters relative to Davis. For those who may not know, Davis is also playing a role with James apart from basketball at the moment.
He will be featured in the highly anticipated film “Space Jam 2,” which gives LeBron and Anthony an opportunity to build camaraderie and just enjoy life.
Moreover, the 26-year-old will be the cover athlete for the next installment of the popular “NBA 2K” video game. Even though winning is his top priority, this is certainly a big win for AD from a marketing perspective. It establishes his presence as a top-tier player in the NBA that much more.
All things considered, the six-time All-Star is aiming for big things to occur during his tenure in Los Angeles. Lakers’ fans can only hope he can live up to the high expectations he has placed upon himself.