Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis is a proudly die-hard Green Bay Packers fan.

He often wears Green Bay gear to the arena when the Lakers play on the same day as the Packers. He frequently posts about their wins on social media. He brings them up at press conferences, and (politely) cuts interviews short when the Pack are playing.

After leading the Lakers to victory over the Spurs on Sunday, Davis joked that he couldn't let the game go into overtime because the Packers were on.

Any way you slice the Wisconsin cheddar, Davis — a Chicago-native — has become a full-blown Cheesehead.

The question is: why?

 

Davis grew up in Chicago. Not only does the Windy City feature an extremely historic and popular football franchise (Da Bears, as you know) with a nearly-unmatched cultural imprint (among NFL teams) and devoted following in the city, but that team happens to be sworn rivals — for a century — with the Packers, their AFC North counterpart.

It would be one thing if Davis had a family member who rooted for the Packers dating back decades. Or if Davis adopted them as a kid for any reason a kid might choose to root for a sports team. However, that's not the case.

In January 2020, AD's Packers fandom was revealed when he showed up to a playoff game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay garb.

 

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He explained how he became a Packers fan a few days after the excursion to Lambeau, which he made with Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and JaVale McGree.

“I was never a football guy and then when I got to the NBA, guys were like you got to have a team. I knew some guys from the Packers and just became a fan. I get a lot of hate and stuff from it, but I don't really care.”

He certainly seems like a football guy now, and his Lakers teammates know it.

Considering those origins, it's genuinely impressive how fervently Davis supports his club. As somebody who has tried (and failed) to inorganically adopt teams when I become interested in a new sport or league or move cities, I have found it profoundly challenging to become authentically and steadfastly passionate.

Understandably, Davis' family is none too pleased with his son's decision to support Aaron Rodgers and co.

“I hear a lot from my family. My dad pulls his hair out every day trying to figure out why I’m a Packers fan,” he said. “It's football at the end of the day.”

Guess Davis isn't the only Lakers star with a somewhat random history of sports fandom.