Anthony Davis warns the competition: "LeBron and I want to win another championship"

Anthony Davis granted an interview to Fox Sports in which he talked about how he is experiencing this 2024/25 season with Los Angeles Lakers. The 31-year-old superstar mentioned LeBron James, praised JJ Redick, and discussed the importance of having been with Team USA at the Olympic Games in Paris, where they won the gold medal by defeating the local team France in the final.

AD is averaging 28.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.0 blocks in the 19 games he has played so far in the regular season. With the Lakers currently sixth in the Western Conference with a record of 12-8, closely chasing the Top 4 held by the Golden State Warriors, the 2020 NBA champion is now among the top contenders for the league MVP, alongside Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum.

"Man, I'm just blessed," Davis told FOX Sports. "God's blessed me with an incredible talent, a beautiful family, a healthy body on top of basketball injuries. But overall, a healthy life and a great mental state. I'm grateful every day for what I can do."

"He's the greatest player to lace up shoes, [has scored] over 40,000 points, and has almost broken every possible record," he said about LeBron James. "So whenever you have a guy like that on your team, it draws a lot of attention. Besides, his basketball IQ is very high, he plays the right way, things like that. I think now, obviously, he's a bit older, but he can still do what he does, and every night he knows he can compete at the highest level.

"But I know, for us to achieve what we've talked about in previous years and this year, to reach the promised land, I have to play like I'm playing now. It's never been a conversation between him and me of 'This is your team, and I'm handing you the reins' or anything like that. We've just played off each other, and that's how it's evolved."

Davis mentioned that playing for the United States team in the Olympic Games in Paris last summer served as a sharpener for his skills. "I think that had a carryover effect," Davis said to FOX Sports. "I've been in a great rhythm."

He also credited the first-year Lakers coach, JJ Redick, for giving him more prominence. "I think [LeBron], JJ, and I have come to the conclusion that, okay, the ball has to go through my hands," Davis said to FOX Sports. "I'll create plays from there. I think that's really what we've decided."

"Right now, we control our own destiny because we're in the sixth spot, so we just have to keep doing what we do," Davis told FOX Sports. "[LeBron and I] definitely want to win another championship. I want to win another championship. I want a parade. I want to experience that. I know he wants it too. I know some of the guys on our team want to win their first championship. We're all competitive and play for each other, trying to play the right way for a common goal."

"The MVP stuff and all that will come when it has to come, if it comes," Davis told FOX Sports. "It's not like I'm going to dominate just to win the MVP. I think a lot of times, when players focus on winning an individual award, they get lost in that and stop focusing on team basketball.

"If I had the mindset of 'Oh, I have to win the scoring title, I have to average 30 points every game,' then I would be forcing shots and doing things just to score 30, just to win the scoring title, just to try to be MVP, and my team would suffer. As long as my team wins and plays the right way, that's my way of being. I don't care about anything else."

"I couldn't tell you," Davis told FOX Sports. "I think sometimes the bar moves. Some players over the years have won the Defensive Player of the Year award because they had the most blocks in a season. I've done that a couple of times and haven't won it. Or is it about team defense? Or individual defense and what numbers you have in that area?

"There's nothing defensively that I can't do. I can switch from positions one to five. I'm one of the best at defending the pick-and-roll, an elite rim protector. Whatever you need me to do defensively, I can do it. Honestly, I've stopped worrying about it. But I'm not sure why I haven't received it yet, although I'm always in the conversation. At this point, I'm a bit beyond that. I'm focused on winning a championship."

"I think that's the motivation every year, when you have the chance to play alongside someone like him," Davis told FOX Sports. "We know he only has a few years left in his career. We want to make the most of it while we can."

"Every day, even after a tough loss, I come home and see my kids," Davis told FOX Sports. "...My two kids don't know anything about what's going on. They don't know if I won or lost, if I scored 30 points or if I scored two, nothing. They just say, 'Daddy, is your eye better? Daddy, is your foot better?' That's all they know. They just know their daddy plays basketball and enjoys it."

"I was a late bloomer and made a name for myself when I was going into my senior year of high school, so I didn't have a chance to experience all the fun and the AAU circuit like most of the league's guys do now," Davis told FOX Sports. "I'm always grateful to have been one of the best players in the league for a long time, been in [nine] All-Stars, won [two] gold medals with the U.S., all of that. I'm very grateful because most players will never win a championship in their lifetime. Most players will never have the chance to compete for a gold medal. Most players will never reach an All-Star."

"For me, I have nothing to prove to myself," Davis told FOX Sports. "I've already exceeded expectations... I've shown I can be healthy. I've already proven I can win a championship. I've shown I can show up in big games and big moments. For me, honestly, it's just about staying healthy again and simply playing basketball."

"I'm grateful every day for what I can do," he concluded.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Anthony Davis avisa a la competencia: "LeBron y yo queremos ganar otro campeonato"