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Pitted against the Western Conference elites in their first two contests of the 2022-23 season, the Los Angeles Lakers fell flat on their faces. LeBron James and co. looked outmatch in both instances against two teams clearly better put together than their own roster.
After their 103-97 loss at the hands of the Clippers, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley had a stern message for LeBron James, and indirectly Anthony Davis:
“I got to challenge LeBron. He's got to come after AD. ‘Yo man, I am too old to carry this team. You should be the man,'” Barkley urged James to vocalize to Anthony Davis. “Like the transition from Kareem to Magic. LeBron at this stage, he's the greatest of this generation, one of the best ever, but at his age we should not be asking a 38-year-old guy to be the best player on your team … especially when you have Anthony Davis.”
It's hard to imagine that LeBron hasn't had these exact conversations with AD behind closed doors. But it doesn't make the message Barkley wants sent any less true. Even with the injuries aside – and that's a pretty huge aside – AD has largely underwhelmed on the court ever since he put the Lakers on his back for their 2020 title run.
“When I said five or six years ago, I said, ‘Anthony Davis, I think he's going to be the best basketball player in the world. … He's not even mentioned anymore.”
“I got to challenge LeBron. He’s got to come after AD… We should not be asking a 38-year old guy to be the best player on his team.”
Chuck on the Lakers pic.twitter.com/ibFV6TuKek
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 21, 2022
Anthony Davis has become a relative afterthought amongst the NBA's elite. The talent and versatility are unmistakeable, but the inconsistency and injuries are what makes the Lakers big man such a frustrating franchise player.
