LeBron James has clearly been the leader of the Los Angeles Lakers since he arrived in the summer of 2018 but while James has shown no signs of needing to relinquish those responsibilities, Anthony Davis looks to have his eyes on establishing his own verbal cadence with the Los Angeles Lakers. More than ever before, Davis has been the voice of passion, heart, and desire in the Lakers locker room.
Already this season, Davis has called out his teammates for a lack of attention and care on the defensive end. He’s also been one to talk about the seriousness of regular-season games, while James maintains his consistency to continue playing at a high level. After making the final stop that L.A. needed on Saturday night, Davis said the Lakers were on a mission after having dropped two straight games for the first time all season.
"We for damn sure wasn't losing three in a row." — Anthony Davis
The Lakers avenge their 32-point loss last year in TD Garden. pic.twitter.com/wxzCjbzSCy
— ESPN (@espn) January 31, 2021
Davis has gotten better at knowing how to push the buttons of his teammates and as far as LeBron is concerned, it looks like he’s here to do his job at the highest level and not be forced to also be the rhetorical leader of the team. For the Lakers’ future, having Davis learn this while LeBron is still able to perform at a high level is likely the best thing for them. Like having Talen Horton-Tucker play tonight ahead of veterans these January nights are the ones where pressure becomes diamonds when the games begin to matter even more.
