As Anthony Davis sits in the backyard of his Los Angeles home, he often gazes into the horizon, consumed by an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. 

“Man, I’m just blessed,” Davis told FOX Sports. “God has blessed me with incredible talent, a beautiful family, a healthy body, besides injuries from basketball. But overall, a healthy life and a great mental space. I’m thankful every day for what I get to do.”

In his 13th NBA season, Davis’ contentment has translated into a combination of looseness and focused intensity on the court. He’s averaging career-highs in points (28.6) and 3-point percentage (37.5%) while grabbing 11.5 rebounds a game for the Los Angeles Lakers, who are in fifth place in the West with a record of 12-8.

Stephen A. Smith, an NBA awards voter in 2024 and ESPN analyst, recently called Davis the leading candidate for MVP, adding, “He has been absolutely sensational this season.” What’s clear is Davis now believes he’s the best player on the court on any given night.

It’s a notable shift, considering he shares the court with LeBron James, whom he grew up idolizing. Davis went from being a 15-year-old who took a Greyhound Bus from Chicago to Ohio to attend the LeBron Academy, to starring alongside James on the Lakers in 2019.  And with James on the brink of turning 40 in a few weeks, the 31-year-old Davis has had to accept another whiplash-inducing change: The Lakers are now his team, even though he’s sharing the court with arguably the greatest player of all-time. 

James has been very public about passing the so-called baton to Davis, consistently telling reporters over the past two seasons that Davis is the main guy. But behind the scenes, things have played out more organically among the two superstars, resembling more of a seamless osmosis than an official role change within a company.

“He’s the greatest ever to lace up some shoes, [scored] over 40,000 points and he’s broken almost every record possible,” Davis told FOX Sports. “So any time you have a guy on your team like that, he commands just so much attention. Also, his IQ is very high, he plays the right way, things like that. I think now it’s just obviously he’s getting a little bit older, still being able to do what he’s able to do, which he still knows night in and night out that he can compete at a high level. 

“But I just know in order for us to do something we’ve talked about in previous years and this year, that in order for us to reach the promised land, I have to play how I’m playing now. It’s never been a conversation with me and him where it’s like, ‘Hey, this is your team and I’m giving you the keys or whatever.’ It’s just been something that we’ve just played off of each other. And it just happened.”

Davis has fully bought into his dominance. 

This season, he has been aggressive on both sides of the ball. He’s not only the Lakers’ defensive pillar, but their motor. He roars. He plays with both joy and passion. 

Davis said playing for Team USA at the Olympic Games in Paris this past summer served as a knife sharpener of sorts for his skills. “I think there was just a carry over from that,” Davis told FOX Sports. “I’ve just been in a great rhythm.”

And he credited first-year Lakers coach JJ Redick for running the ball through him. “I think [LeBron], myself and JJ have kind of come together and realized, okay, the ball needs to be in my hands,” Davis told FOX Sports. “I’ll make plays from there. So, I think that’s really what it came down to.”

Redick, who was hired to replace Darvin Ham in June, issued a challenge to Davis when he accepted the gig. “To win the MVP,” Redick said. 

Davis has responded by scoring 35 or more points six times this season. He’s seventh in the league in points, eighth in rebounds and seventh in blocks. Said James: “It’s very important that he’s the main focal point for us every single night.” Added Austin Reaves: “I feel like he’s the best player on our team.”

But even though Davis has created a buzz with his MVP-caliber play, what has become clear to him is even more exciting. 

With him playing his best, and with James defying Father Time, capable of rattling off four straight triple-double performances, as he did last month, the Lakers could be competitive. They recently won six games in a row. Perhaps there’s a chance they could even contend for another championship, after winning their first title in 10 years in the the NBA Bubble in Orlando in 2020. 

“Right now we’re in control of our own destiny since we’re sitting in the [sixth] seed, so we’ve just got to continue to do 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 [LeBron] wants to. I know some guys on our team want to win their first one. We’re all competitive and we’re all playing for each other and just trying to play the right way for one common goal.”

For Davis, the MVP buzz is validating. 

But he made it very clear that it’s not his motivation. He’s not willing to pad his stats at the expense of his team.

“The MVP stuff and all that stuff will come whenever it comes, if it comes,” Davis told FOX Sports. “It’s not like I’m going to dominate so I can win MVP. I think a lot of times when players focus on winning an individual award, they get lost in that and not focusing on team basketball.

“If I had the mindset, oh, I have to win the scoring title, I have to average 30 [points] every game, then I’d be forcing shots and doing things just to score 30, just to get the scoring title, just to try to get MVP — and now my team is losing. As long as my team is winning and playing the right way, that’s my MO. I don’t care about anything else.”

Davis knows better than anyone not to be driven by awards. 

Throughout his career, he has poured himself into the less glamorous side of the game, consistently starring on the defensive end. He’s quick to acknowledge that he’s not sure why he has never won a Defensive Player of the Year award, despite leading the league in blocked shots three times (2014, 2015 and 2018) and having the second-most blocks among active players. 

When asked if he thinks voters were turned off by the way he forced his way out of New Orleans to join the Lakers, or whether he’s somehow being docked for playing alongside the face of the league in James, Davis conceded he’s not sure. 

“I couldn’t even tell you,” Davis told FOX Sports. “I think the goal post just moves sometimes. Some guys throughout the years have been awarded Defensive Player of the Year because they had the most blocks in a season. I’ve done that a couple of times and haven’t gotten it. Or is it about team defense? Or is it about individual defense and what numbers do you have on the defensive end?

“There’s nothing that I can’t do defensively. I can switch one-through-five. I’m one of the best at guarding pick-and-rolls, an elite rim protector. Whatever you need me to do defensively, I can do. I honestly just stopped caring about it. But I’m not sure why I haven’t received one yet, even though I’m in a conversation about it every year. At this point, I’m kind of just over it. I’m focusing on winning a championship.”

Davis knows his window to win another title alongside James is rapidly shrinking, something that gives him added incentive considering they’ve become close friends over the last six years.

Following games, the two stars often chat about the NFL from their side-by-side lockers. Sometimes they discuss what bottle of wine they’re going to open that evening. James has ribbed Davis for his unibrow. Davis teases James for being old. They’ve posted photos of their families having dinner at each other’s homes.

And in many ways, they’ve been each other’s perfect complement on the court. Davis has never competed with James. He has mined him for knowledge. He learned how to be a champion from him. And now, Davis has accepted the reins in hopes that it’ll lead to another title. 

“I think that’s the motivation every year, when you get a chance to play alongside somebody like that,” Davis told FOX Sports. “We know that he only has a few years left in his game. We want to take advantage of it while we can.”

While Davis has evolved during his partnership with James, he has also remained the same in some ways.

Davis still takes perceived failures deeply personally. He recently had 39 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in a 119-118 loss to Orlando, in which he missed a pair of free throws down the stretch. After the game, he was so upset that he barely spoke above a whisper as he answered reporters’ questions.  

But now, he knows how to reset after those blows.  

“Every day, even after a tough loss, I get to go home and look at my kids,” Davis told FOX Sports. “…My two boys don’t know nothing that’s going on. They don’t know if I’ve won or lost, if I’ve had 30 [points] or if I had two, anything. It’s just, ‘Daddy, is your eye better? Daddy, is your foot better?’ That’s all they know. They just know that their daddy plays basketball and has fun with it.”

Davis uses that as a reminder to not take things too seriously. His kryptonite is getting inside his own head and self-flagellating. But on the flipside of that weakness lies his greatest strength: He never takes a moment of this for granted. 

In fact, he often thinks about how making the NBA once seemed like nothing but a pipe dream. 

Davis was a relative unknown for much of high school until he grew seven inches heading into his senior year, catapulting him to becoming No. 1 in the country. He went on to star at Kentucky for one season, leading the Wildcats to the National Championship. He was then selected as the No. 1 overall pick by New Orleans in 2012. 

Davis believes because he didn’t have much buzz around him for most of his formative teenage years, he’s even more appreciative of what he has now. 

“I was a late bloomer and got onto the scene when I was going into my senior year of high school, so I didn’t get a chance to experience all the fun and the AAU circuit like most guys do in the league now,” Davis told FOX Sports. “I’m always appreciative of being able to be one of the top guys in the league for a very long time, making [nine] All-Stars, [two] USA gold medals, all that stuff. I’m very appreciative because most guys will never win a championship in their life. Most guys will never get a chance to compete for a gold medal. Most guys will never make an All-Star.”

That perspective has helped him shake off any negative narratives. Injury-riddled? Soft? He’s largely disproven them all, going from being nicknamed “Street Clothes” by Charles Barkley to playing 76 games last season, while showing that he can be an unstoppable force on both ends of the court. Now, he says he’s no longer trying to convince anyone of anything, 

He’s just playing free.   

“For me, I don’t really have anything to prove to myself,” Davis told FOX Sports. “I’ve already beat the odds…I proved that I can be healthy. I already proved that I can win a championship. I proved that I can show up for big games and big moments. For me, it’s just honestly staying healthy again and just playing basketball.”

Now, Davis is fully in the moment. 

He’s not trying to redefine his narrative. He’s atop the league. He’s playing some of his best basketball. And the Lakers are his team, even though he’s playing alongside LeBron-freaking-James. 

So, as his star keeps growing brighter, he can’t help but be contemplative in the quiet moments when he stares into the horizon, deeply appreciating that his path has led him here. 

“I’m thankful every day for what I get to do,” he said. 
 
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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