Anthony Davis and LeBron James have been teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers since 2019 and won a title for the franchise together.
Naturally, spending so much time together gives teammates opportunities to build strong relationships with one another. Though there’s been some speculation about Davis and James’ relationship recently, the big man recently spoke about the relationship and offered some positive words.
“Me and Bron have one of the best relationships I think in the NBA as far as duos or teammates, regardless,” Davis told ESPN. “But they don’t see that. They don’t see the stuff we do off the court and time we hang out with each other. They see on-court stuff.”
James has way more experience than Davis does, and when they teamed up, James had already won three titles, two with the Miami Heat and one with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The University of Kentucky product, on the other hand, had not enjoyed much postseason success with the New Orleans Pelicans.
“He’s [LeBron] obviously taught me so much about the game, leadership,” Davis said. “And I think it comes more into play when he’s not playing because I have to. He’s not there. … [Usually] I go out there and play and let him do all the talking. But when he’s out, we need somebody to have a voice and that’s when it’s, ‘OK, this is my time to use my voice as well.'”
Despite being 38 years old, James is still one of the league’s best players when he’s on the court. Much of that is due to how well he takes care of his body. The four-time champion is constantly showing off his work in the gym, and it seems like Davis has picked up on some of James’ habits.
“The way he takes care of his body: constant massages, constant lifting, treatment…all that stuff I picked up on and put into my routine to be able to play as much as I can,” Davis said.
Davis would be wise to take all types of pointers from James regarding how to extend his career as long as possible by keeping his body fresh. The 30-year-old has only played more than 70 regular season games in a season twice. He’s developed a reputation as one of the more injury-prone players in the league.
Though James has dealt with plenty of injury issues over the past few seasons, he’s not known to be injury-prone. In fact, he had never played less than 62 games in a season prior to joining the Lakers. Even then, his lowest total (62) came during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 campaign that saw teams play 66 regular season games each.
It’s good to hear Davis quell any rumors of a potential bad relationship between him and James. After all, the two are the most important players for the Purple and Gold. L.A. will need to lean on them if it wants to have any type of success in the postseason.
The Lakers are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference, but there are four teams that have a 36-37 record. That includes the Lakers, who are set to face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of those teams, on Friday night.
