The Los Angeles Lakers are still the best team in the NBA despite all of the obstacles in their way.
They’re a cool 14-4 and — as of Wednesday morning — are a half-game up on the Utah Jazz for first place in the Western Conference. Now, in a vacuum that probably isn’t that impressive. After all, they are the NBA champions. They’re supposed to be that good.
But, really, Anthony Davis and the Lakers probably have no business being this good this early. The NBA season started on December 22. The Lakers played the last game of the 2019-20 season on October 11.
That’s an unprecedented 79-day offseason. During a regular year, that’s normally the amount of time players would take to rest their bodies before preparing for the next year.
This season, clearly, has been anything but regular. Yet, as Anthony Davis said in an interview with For The Win, coming into this season as champions has helped.
Davis chopped it up with Mike Sykes to talk a bit about how much of a whirlwind it’s been, how the Lakers have been so ready for it and the new Super Bowl ad starring himself. Here’s that conversation (which has been condensed and edited):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nzZW8BN-WY&feature=youtu.be
Mike Sykes: So, first, tell me a bit about what you’re doing with Michelob Ultra.
Anthony Davis: Man, last year we did a Super Bowl commercial just being happy and winning and the joy of winning and success. And our frame for that commercial was, “Are you happy because you win? Or do you win because you’re happy?” I think it’s something we sort of live by. Especially me, on and off the floor, I think I was able to be successful last year because I was happy. It’s not just about the hard work, the grit and the grind. But it’s that joy with your friends and your family that helps you be successful at work.
Sykes: Yeah, let’s stay right there for a sec. You talked about you being happy with where you were last season, how has it been just moving around every day as a champion? I imagine coming into this season it’s got to be a different sort of vibe for you.
Davis: Yeah, it’s different. I think, just being on the court and playing against other teams, you have a target on your back. I mean, today, you don’t really get that champion feeling as much as you’d like to because there are no fans and the ring ceremony was different. No parade. So you don’t get that side of it. That’s the only difference. But, I think my life has been a little different just being a champion. People calling me champ and congratulating you every time they see you, it’s been fun for me for sure.
Sykes: Have you gotten used to that at all?
Davis: A little bit. Mostly, I like the sound of it. It motivates me and the team, too, to try and win it again this year.
Sykes: Speaking of the team, just watching you guys this year there seems to be a different sort of aura when watching you. Last year, you knew you were good, you could win a title. Now you’ve done it, and it feels like the team’s confidence is at an all-time high.
Davis: Yeah, man. We’re a confident team. We know what it takes. We have now, maybe, seven guys, eight guys on the team who were champs. They know what it takes. Our organization is used to winning championships. The guys that we’ve brought in … those guys want to be champions as well. It only helps our team. And once you get that feeling, you get very confident in your game, your organization and your team. You can go out there and play with a chip on your shoulder knowing you want to repeat. And we’re off to a great start right now.
Anthony Davis dropped a season-high 37 in his hometown as the Lakers improve to a league-best 13-4 record (9-0 on the road).
37 PTS (14/21 FG), 6 REB, 3 AST in 28 MINSpic.twitter.com/nM1FCDpoAA
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 24, 2021
Sykes: Yeah, y’all are off to an excellent start and, honestly, from the outside looking in, it’s sort of surprising. Not because, like, obviously y’all are champions. But you also just won the title back in October. And the turnaround was so quick, but you’ve still jumped out of the gate. What was that quick turnaround like? How’d you adapt?
Davis: Yeah, we were definitely shocked. We didn’t think we were going to be starting that soon. I think there was a stat that the rest of the league had a crazy amount of time off and we only had 70 days. I think it was like 250 to, like, 71 or something like that. It was a crazy turnaround. But in our first meeting, coach [Frank Vogel] told us that no one was going to feel sorry for us. So we weren’t going to feel sorry for ourselves. We were going to go out, while we were still trying to manage our bodies and make sure we’re not overdoing it so early, we’re still going to win ballgames. And we’ve been able to do that. We’ve made sure guys are staying healthy and getting the proper rest while trying to compete at a high level. It’s been good for us. It’s been a great balance for our team.
I think bringing in Dennis [Schröder] and bringing in Trez [Montrezl Harrell] and Wes [Matthews], guys who didn’t play into October, they’re coming in and giving us that spark. So it’s been great. It’s been good for us. But, nah, we don’t want to make no excuses. We’ve got to go out there and play. The season started when it started. We’ve just got to go out and compete.
Sykes: How’s the quick start changed your training at all? Are you preparing differently?
Davis: Usually when the seasons over, I’d take a month or a month-and-a-half off to let the body heal and then get back into training and build up. Usually, it’s three or four months off. For me, it’s changed. But I was using the first couple weeks of camp and, even now, to ramp my body back up. Because you don’t want to have nagging injuries or find yourself hurt.
We saw it with [the NFL] unfortunately, a lot of guys got hurt early on because they didn’t have a preseason and went straight into playing games. We didn’t want to do that at all. Coach did a good job of making sure we ramped up the right way.
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