2. Anthony Davis has his playoff moment and shouts, “Kobe.”
AD baby! Anthony Davis had not only the most exciting moment of his career but one of the most exciting moments in Los Angeles Lakers playoff history when he hit a buzzer-beating shot against the Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
Davis scored the Lakers’ final 10 points that evening. What many forget is that Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic had just bullied AD in the block one play earlier to tie the game.
The truly great players show their greatness after other players make them look foolish. If you knew AD’s greatness, you knew he would come back from this play to show it. AD is known for his defense, but he let Jokic shove him back like it was nothing.
With 2.1 seconds remaining Rajon Rondo inbounded the ball to a cutting Anthony Davis on the left side of the wing. Jokic ran out to try and stop him, but AD stared down Jokic and his outstretched arm as the big man buried the 3-pointer for his shining playoff-buzzer-beating moment.
The Lakers we wearing their Mamba jerseys in honor of Kobe that night. Many of us remember saying, “Kobe,” when hitting a clutch shot on the driveway, taking a fadeaway jumper or even throwing a rolled-up paper ball in the trash.
On this night, Anthony Davis was that kid representing all of us who dreamed of that moment as he had his own Mamba Moment. Davis ran to his teammates after the shot as he yelled, “Kobe.”
When Lakers sideline reporter Mike Trudell asked him about this, Davis confirmed what he said. “I did . He’s hit countless shots like that.”
Moments don’t get much more special than this, but as Kobe Bryant always alluded to: the job wasn’t finished.