"You guys know me, it doesn't matter unless we get the win” — Anthony Davis on his historic 55-point night
Anthony Davis
© Brad Mills - USA TODAY Sports
When Darvin Ham took over the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching reigns last summer, he had one specific goal: let Anthony Davis anchor this franchise.
Two months into the season, that goal is slowly coming to fruition, as Davis is playing his best stretch in the purple and gold armor, averaging 35.3 points, 15.6 rebounds, 2.9 blocks on 65/46/88% shooting splits - leading the Lakers to an 8-2 record in their last 10 games.
Davis' best game of the season so far was Sunday night's 130-119 victory over the Washington Wizards, where he put up 55 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 22-30 shooting from the field in 38 minutes.
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According to the ever-reliable Statmuse, AD is the first Laker with back-to-back 40 and 10 games since the late great Kobe Bryant did it in 2001. The Brow also joined Shaquille O'Neal and Wilt Chamberlain as the 3 only players to ever put up 50+ points and 15 (or more) rebounds in a game in the last 60 years.
Davis says stats don't matter, it's just about winning.
The resurgence of Davis has been the most significant factor for the Lakers this season, especially because the eight-time All-Star has battled numerous injuries over the past two years. This recent historic stretch has only proven that AD is still an elite superstar in the league, but as the story has been throughout his career, it's just a matter of him staying healthy.
So while Davis' revenge tour has put the league on notice, he admits that he doesn't pay attention to proving his doubters wrong because he just wants to win whether he puts up historic stats or not — something the Lakers haven't done frequently over the past couple of seasons.
"You guys know me, it doesn't matter unless we get the win," Davis told reporters after his impressive night on Sunday.
From "maximize LeBron's last few years" to "maximize AD's prime" real quick
Aside from leading the Lakers to victories and finally being the team's main focal point, AD's resurgence is yet another notice for the Lakers front office that they need to get their priorities together NOW. The biggest question that surfaced around Laker land coming into the season was why they were wasting another year of LeBron James. Now, Davis has changed that to why the front office shouldn't waste another one of his prime years.
With their performance as of late, James and Davis have proven that they deserve to be put in the best possible situation to compete for another title. Only time will tell if the Lakers give in to their superstars or, once again, fumble what could be another wasted season.
