Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis says one of the ways he motivates small forward LeBron James is by calling The King “old.”
James is 35 years old and has a ton of miles on his body. However, he is still arguably the best player in the game and leads the NBA in assists.
Davis, who is James' running mate on the Lakers, constantly jokes around with LeBron about his age so the four-time MVP doesn't get complacent, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Though Davis has been willing to take advice, he hasn't shied from giving James the business at times. “I mess with him,” Davis says. “I'm like, ‘You getting old, man.' Earlier this year, he had a dunk on a break, and it was like something so simple. And I told him, ‘Man, that's a three.'
“And so when he did the same [dunk] that Kobe did, he came to me after the game and said, ‘Yeah, that was an 8.5, wasn't it?'”
Confused by the number, Davis needed to be reminded of the needle he gave James months before.
“‘I'm not old yet,'” Davis says, paraphrasing James' quip.
Sharing the story gave Davis a satisfied smile.
“I'm doing my job motivating him,” he says.
Before the 2019-20 season was suspended in March, James was averaging 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.6 assists for the Lakers in 60 starts. The three-time champion is looking to win title No. 4 down in Orlando, Florida.
Though Davis leads the Lakers in 13 statistical categories, it's LeBron who is going to ultimately be the main reason why the team does or doesn't win the championship. Los Angeles has the best record in the Western Conference standings and will use its eight seeding games to prepare for the postseason.
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