When LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading career scorer on Tuesday, just about everyone seemed excited and happy for him. That is, except for perhaps Anthony Davis.
His body language when James achieved the record was of someone who had feelings other than positivity, but head coach Darvin Ham tried to put any reports as to why he may have felt that way to rest.
Darvin Ham on reports circulating about Anthony Davis and his body language on Tuesday: “I’ll just say what’s being reported is not the case and I’ll leave it there.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 10, 2023
Davis had an oddly disconnected outing on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder where he took just nine shots and scored only 13 points. Since coming back from a stress injury in his right foot, he has been mostly dominant.
He had come off a dominant performance versus the New Orleans Pelicans, his former team, on Saturday in which he put up 34 points, snatched 14 rebounds and added three assists and two blocked shots.
Before his right foot stress injury, he had gone on a tear for a few weeks, putting up several 35-point, 15-rebound games, and during that span, he was looking like arguably the best player in the NBA.
Davis will be getting some help soon, as the Lakers acquired big men Jarred Vanderbilt and Mo Bamba over the past couple of days in a flurry of moves just prior to Thursday’s trade deadline.
Vanderbilt will give L.A. someone who can play the 4 and 5 and can hustle and make plays defensively while finishing strong at the rim and running the floor on transition opportunities. Bamba, meanwhile, is a legitimate shot-blocker who can also throw down dunks and also hit with accuracy from 3-point range.
With Bamba, as well as new additions D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley tossing in shots from downtown, Davis and LeBron James will likely have more freedom to roam around and do their customary damage in the paint.
Davis will need to be at his best on Thursday versus Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, as James will sit out due to left foot soreness.
