LeBron James Reveals Valuable Advice He Gave Anthony Davis on Return to New Orleans

By Jonathan Sherman
Updated: November 27, 2019

Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis is on the cusp of enduring his homecoming in New Orleans.

Wednesday night, the big man will face his former team and its fans at Smoothie King Center. A star returning to play in front of his former home crowd after leaving for another team can be a daunting experience. Luckily, Davis has a teammate who knows all about it.

LeBron James, who has now played on three different teams in his storied career, is all too familiar with returning to play in front of fans who used to love him. The most intense example of that was back in 2010 when he played in Cleveland for the first time after leaving the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat.

That experience offered James a great opportunity to give his young teammate some advice about his own return.

“I talked to him,” James said, “because I know what it’s like going into a situation where you would call home for seven years. … He’s a kid when he got there, and he became a man along that seven-year journey, so it’s just going to be a different situation for him personally.”

While some New Orleans Pelicans fans do not expect Davis to receive a chorus of boos like James did in Cleveland, it is likely that he will face quite a bit of adversity in tonight’s game.

Luckily, Davis has a teammate like James to help him through the tough times.

Already this season, it’s become quite evident that the connection the two superstars share can best the vast majority of teams in the NBA.

It now seems like they’re off-court relationship is growing as well. It’s that kind of adversity that will ultimately help this team in immeasurable ways once their eventual playoff push actually begins.