Tuesday night was a historic one for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they honored Pau Gasol by retiring his No. 16 jersey at halftime of their contest against the Memphis Grizzlies. Afterwards, they went ahead and put the Grizzlies away down the stretch for a 112-103 win.
Anthony Davis was dominant once again, and he revealed that he told Gasol he wants his own jersey retired by the Purple and Gold someday.
Anthony Davis said he told Pau Gasol he wants his No. 3 retired by the Lakers one day to join the likes of Gasol and all of the other legendary Lakers big men.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 8, 2023
Gasol played six years and change for the Lakers, and he transformed them from a mediocre team to one that claimed back-to-back NBA championships almost immediately. He was a player who had virtually no weaknesses, and he proved to be the ideal star alongside Kobe Bryant.
The Spaniard is now officially up there with the likes of George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal as part of the lineage of storied big men who played for the Lakers, led them to at least one world title and got their jersey retired by the franchise.
The way Davis is playing, it is just about inevitable he will end up in that same pantheon.
He scored an extremely efficient 30 points on Tuesday while devouring 22 rebounds and blocking two shots. It came on the heels of a 39-point, eight-rebound and six-assist performance on Sunday when L.A. defeated the Golden State Warriors.
Some have doubted whether he can carry the team with LeBron James out because of a right foot injury, but Davis has put it on his shoulders while helping it build some much-needed momentum.
Anthony Davis since LeBron was injured against Dallas
29 PTS | 19 REBS | 5 BLKS
38 PTS | 5 REBS | 2 BLKS
39 PTS | 8 REBS | 2 BLKS
30 PTS | 22 REBS | 2 BLKSThe Lakers are 6-2 in their last 8 games 👀 pic.twitter.com/xtDzDTZTUy
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) March 8, 2023
The Lakers trailed at many points in the fourth quarter to Memphis, but Davis started to pour it on to help them come out on top.
The win put them into ninth place in the Western Conference, and they’re within striking distance of the sixth spot, which is where they have said they want to be by the time the regular season ends.
