Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers might finally be turning a corner after a rickety start to their season. The Lakers have won 6 of their last 10 games, including their last two. They currently have a 24-18 record, which is good for the 5th seed in the West. However, even as the Lakers continue to make headway, Davis feels that the team is still short of a piece which could help them cross the hump.
On Thursday, before taking on the Boston Celtics for the NBA’s Rivals Week showdown, ESPN Insider Shams Charania released an interview of his with Anthony Davis in which the Lakers big man went into details about the team’s championship aspirations under new HC JJ Redick. In the interview, AD revealed that he believes the Lakers still have a few moves to make to fill out some missing pieces in the roster.
One, we want to win it for the city. Two, we never got a parade. Three, it’s a lot of talk about an asterisk … We are (1-2 pieces away). I really feel like we are.
Anthony Davis told Shams Charania
Lakers’ Anthony Davis sits down for ESPN: “One, we want to win it for the city. Two, we never got a parade. Three, it’s a lot of talk about an asterisk … We are (1-2 pieces away). I really feel like we are.”
On roster needs, JJ Redick, motivations alongside LeBron James, more: pic.twitter.com/AHe6pfHxjB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 24, 2025
With the way the Lakers roster is geared at the moment, Davis believes that the addition of another big man would allow the team and AD himself to achieve his true potential by playing the 4 spot. Similar to the success the Lakers had in their 2020 title run, he feels that the team will be at its best when they have supplementary big men such as JaVale McGee or Marc Gasol to aid Davis.
Anthony Davis listed out a number of priorities that the Lakers have, the biggest of which is the chance to bring another championship to the city. After the Los Angeles Dodgers brought a title to the City of Stars last season, Davis and the Lakers squad will be focused on ensuring that they can celebrate similar success alongside Laker fans, especially given their inability to celebrate a championship parade in 2020.
Anthony Davis shines as Lakers dominate Celtics
While Anthony Davis may not prefer playing as the lone big man on the Lakers roster, he was more than a handful for the reigning champion Boston Celtics to handle. As the two teams faced off against each other for the NBA’s special Rivals Week games, the Lakers handed the Celtics a decidedly shocking 117-96 loss, with Davis leading from the front.
The Lakers star scored a game-high 24 points on 9-18 shooting while also recording 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Davis was dominant on both ends of the floor, playing a key role in limiting the full-strength Celtics juggernaut offensive engine to just 96 points. He was joined in the Lakers offensive display by LeBron James and Austin Reaves, who each scored 20 and 23 points, respectively.
On the other end of the floor, the Celtics stars struggled to show up for the marquee matchup. While much had been made of the matchup between James and Jayson Tatum, who were both announced as All-Star starters in their respective conference before the game, Tatum put up a no-show for his standards, recording just 16 points on 5-12 shooting.
The star of the evening was clearly Anthony Davis, who may have had his own gripes with not being named an All-Star starter. AD and the Lakers will now look ahead to stringing together more victories like Thursday’s in a bid to make a deep playoff run under the new coaching staff of JJ Redick.
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