Throughout Anthony Davis’ career, plenty of observers questioned whether he had the toughness to play huge under huge pressure.
In Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, he responded by posting 34 points, and in doing so, he had one of the highest scoring games in a Finals debut in Los Los Angeles Lakers history.
Davis talked about trailing only Shaquille O’Neal and George Mikan in that category.
AD (34 PTS) reacts to only being behind Shaq and George Mikan for most points in an #NBAFinals debut in Lakers history pic.twitter.com/Df8lyiBYAG
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 1, 2020
“You by the way had one of the most historic NBA Finals debuts we’ve seen in the NBA,” said Rachel Nichols. “You’re tied for third-place – Elgin Baylor, and I’m gonna give you the other two names on this list: George Mikan and Shaquille O’Neal. That’s pretty good company, AD. How did you feel out there tonight?”
“I felt good,” said Davis. “My first NBA Finals game, obviously the nerves was there, a little nervous, but when the ball’s tipped up, we just go out there and play basketball, and I tried to do that tonight. I got some good looks early, got to the free throw line a lot, able to calm down and see the ball go through the net, which opened up the jump shot, and also opened up the lane for me. So I just go out there and try to be comfortable knowing that this is the moment I’ve waited for my entire career and that I’m here, so I maximize this opportunity because it doesn’t come around too often, and my teammates did a good job making sure I was in my comfort spots to be successful.”
In addition to his big offensive outing, Davis also had nine rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.
From the start of the season, fellow Lakers superstar LeBron James let it be known that Davis would be the Lakers’ top offensive option.
The University of Kentucky product has held up his end of the bargain so far, leading the team in scoring in both the regular season and playoffs.
If Davis keeps up this level of play, he could walk away with his first Finals MVP award within a couple of weeks.
