Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis issued a confident message ahead of the team’s play-in tournament game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
Davis explained how he came to Los Angeles to win, and he wants the team to get back to the NBA Finals this season.
“I came here to win,” Davis said Monday. “It’s a winning franchise. … First year we get it done. Second year, had my sprain in the knee in the playoffs and then it was a shorter offseason. … weird Year 2. And Year 3, we just [had] injuries and just totally flunked that season. So it feels good to get back into a winning culture, winning ways.
“From this season, starting 2-10 and winning a lot of basketball games, it put us in a position to be in a play-in and control our destiny.”
The Lakers got off to a slow start, but they turned their season around at the trade deadline, adding D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba and Rui Hachimura in a few different deals.
Los Angeles finished the season on a hot streak, winning 13 of its final 18 games. The Lakers dealt with LeBron James’ absence due to injury, yet they still found a way to get the No. 7 seed in the West, and the top spot in the play-in tournament.
However, Davis doesn’t just want to make the playoffs this season.
“We like to get greedy and ultimately reach our goal that we started at the beginning of this year and that’s to win a championship,” Davis said.
It’s great to see the Lakers star so locked in for this postseason run, especially since he’s going to be a major piece for the Lakers on Tuesday night.
Los Angeles has the benefit of facing the Timberwolves with Rudy Gobert (suspension) out of the lineup, which should open up things for Davis down low.
BREAKING: Rudy Gobert will NOT play vs. the Lakers on Tuesday in the play-in tournament, per @wojespn.
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) April 10, 2023
In his last two games against the Timberwolves, Davis scored 38 points each time. Another strong game like that could lead the Lakers to a win and set them up to play the No. 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.
It makes sense that Davis thinks this team can win a title, as the last time he and James were fully healthy heading into the playoffs, the Lakers won the 2020 NBA Finals in the Orlando, Fla. bubble.
While James played in the playoffs against the Phoenix Suns in the 2020-21 season, he was dealing with an ankle injury that caused him to miss a good chunk of the second half of the season.
The Lakers would love to get past Minnesota on Tuesday and secure a playoff spot, and it appears that Davis is confident that the team will be able to do much more than just that this postseason.
