After Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets won the 2023 NBA Finals, Denver head coach Michael Malone joked that he might retire from coaching.
This was seen as a shot at LeBron James, who reportedly considered retirement this offseason.
Star Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis recently admitted that he wants vengeance against the Nuggets after hearing Malone’s comments. James’ former teammate Richard Jefferson took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and defended Davis for wanting vengeance.
Safe to say LeBron and AD are motivated to face the Nuggets after all their trash talk 😈
“It was just a lot of talking. We get it, y’all won, but me and Bron had some conversations… we can’t wait [to play them].” pic.twitter.com/qr8iZGIwll
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) October 2, 2023
Malone said what he said and they are taking it a certain way.🤷🏽♂️ Your head Coach is the face of the franchise even if he can’t score a point! Either way they are the Champs and the league is coming for them. Nuggets are ready! https://t.co/TcmJws9NHO
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) October 4, 2023
Davis was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft after spending one season playing college basketball at the University of Kentucky. He has played for two teams — the New Orleans Pelicans and Lakers — across his 11 seasons in the NBA.
The 6-foot-10 big man averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in 56 games played with the storied Lakers franchise during the 2022-23 regular season. Davis also shot the ball with impressive accuracy from the field, seeing as how he converted a career-high 56.3 percent of his field-goal attempts.
He didn’t earn an All-Star Game appearance for his contributions on both sides of the ball, however.
For as great as Davis performed for the Lakers during the 2022-23 regular season, he was arguably even better during the 2023 playoffs.
He was flat-out dominant from a defensive standpoint, as he averaged two-plus blocks per game in all three of Los Angeles’ playoff series, including a whopping 4.3 blocks per game against Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.
But Davis’ best all-around series of the 2023 playoffs came in the Western Conference Finals against the Nuggets. He averaged 26.8 points, 14.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.8 blocks per game for the series while shooting 49.3 percent from the field.
Davis and the Lakers will begin their 2023-24 regular season in Denver against Jokic, Murray and the Nuggets on Oct. 24.
Lakers fan should have this date circled on their calendars, especially in light of Davis’ comments that he wants vengeance against Denver after Malone’s comments a few months back.
