The LA Lakers and Anthony Davis appear to have finally found their rhythm. Riding on 3 straight wins, the Lakers are now seventh in the West and have also won both of their In-Season tournament group-stage games. AD appears to have returned to his best which has had a positive effect on the entire roster. Currently, on the top of their West Group A, the Lakers will take on the Utah Jazz on November 22 which for the major part should decide their group.
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Regardless, their latest win, a blowout 134-107 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies, came despite a relatively quiet night for LeBron James. However, with a $500,000 winning prize at stake (for each player of the winning team), Anthony Davis joked about the amount sounding “real good” for the roster. AD said that while the team is focused on getting to their best for the rest of the season, the $500,000 is acting as extra motivation for at least a part of the team.
This includes an unnamed teammate of Davis, who revealed that he had never had $500,000 at once before. “$500 [thousand] sound real good to us. It’s going to bring that juice. For us, we are trying to get better each and every game. I heard one of our players, I ain’t gonna say who but he was like, ‘Man, we beat Phoenix like that’s one step closer to this 500. I’ve never had that before.’ So that’s a little extra motivation,” Davis said during a press conference, as seen in this clip posted by ClutchPoints.
Lakers star Anthony Davis says the In-Season tourney games feel a bit different 🙌
“$500 [thousand] sound real good to us. It’s going to bring that juice… I heard one of our players, I ain’t gonna say who but he was like, ‘Man, we beat Phoenix, like that’s one step closer to… pic.twitter.com/eFrievsQ4i
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 15, 2023
Considering some of the highest-paid stars in the team are effectively millionaires, the confession seems to have come from one of the younger members of the roster. On the other hand, the richest athlete on the team, LeBron James is also hyped about the $500k despite being a billionaire.
Regardless, whatever be the source of motivation, fans will be happy about the fact that the Lakers have responded to a slump with 3 straight victories. The win against the Grizzlies, in particular, saw AD return to his fiery best. He was a menace on both ends of the court and finished with an efficient 19 points and 11 rebounds, as he converted 7 of his 11 shots from the field.
LeBron James had a poor night despite bright Lakers win
While the rest of the team shot extremely well, LeBron James himself returned with just 16 points. That is hilariously his season-low so far.
The 38-year-old has been in imperious form and continues to be the best player on a talented roster. James is still recovering from the shin injury he recently picked up, and was happy despite his own shortcomings on the night. “You don’t want to be that guy when the team is shooting extremely well. You want to chip in and be a part of it. Definitely a great shooting night for us tonight, and a good win for us,” LeBron said.
Of course, the fact that the Lakers produced their best win of the season on a poor night for LeBron will only be seen as a positive. Both AD and James sat out of the entire 4th quarter which is an indication of progress albeit against a struggling team.
