The Los Angeles Lakers have been on fire since reinventing the team at the trade deadline. Los Angeles has the second-best record in the Western Conference since the deadline and has shot up the Western Conference standings despite LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell missing several games.
It is safe to say that with the way the Lakers are playing, they are the team that nobody wants to face in the NBA Playoffs. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are a nightmare matchup and now the superstar duo has a supporting cast that is up for the task.
LeBron and AD have as much chemistry as a star duo can have on the court but there are questions being raised about the duo’s relationship off the court. On a recent episode of the ‘Colin Cowherd Podcast‘, the titular host shared that sources close to the Lakers have told him that LeBron and AD are not as close as they appear off the court.
"“I’d been tipped by somebody around the Lakers that said LeBron and AD, after that reaction to LeBron breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record, they’re not boys. It’s not hostile, but they’re not guys, right? […] (AD) came in post-bubble out of shape. It was his turn to sort of triumphantly take the team. When LeBron’s missing, AD’s often not playing as well […] And there’s been some disappointment in the LeBron camp.”"
NBA Rumors: LeBron James and Anthony Davis may not be as close as Lakers fans thought.
It seemed for a while that LeBron James and Anthony Davis had a great relationship. After all, Davis signed over to Klutch Sports before even joining the Lakers and even played a prominent role in ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’. They might not be the best of friends but the relationship seemed geat.
The relationship between the two superstars was first questioned on the night that LeBron James broke the scoring title. It was a joyous night with true NBA history unfolding in front of our very eyes. Yet Davis had one of the weirdest possible reactions to the entire affair.
There might be some truth to what Cowherd is reporting here. LeBron’s camp hasn’t been shy in starting a narrative in the media and perhaps that is part of the root of the problem between AD and LeBron. After all, LeBron hasn’t had the best track record as a teammate off the court.
While this might seem concerning, it shouldn’t be anything that Lakers fans worry about right now. The team is playing really solid basketball and once LeBron returns to the fold the ceiling of this team is only going to grow.
LeBron and AD don’t have to be best friends off the court. They don’t even have to be friends at all. As long as there is no animosity that is boiling over to the game itself then everything should be fine. And so far, that has not seemed to happen outside of the rare instances where AD seems to be up in his feelings.
This is the franchise that won three consecutive championships with two star players who were at each other’s throats. They can survive if AD and LeBron aren’t besties.