Lakers’ Anthony Davis sets goal: ‘I want to be able to play all 82’

EL SEGUNDO — It was the Freudian slip of the Lakers’ preseason media day that echoed throughout the league.

As Anthony Davis searched for a way to symbolize how high fan expectations have become for him, he landed in mythology: “I’m not going to overthink and listen to what everybody else is saying and try to be this whatever player they want me to be to, this Greek God.”

Seconds later, he realized what his phrasing implied, then laughed: “I say ‘Greek,’ not Giannis (Antetokounmpo).”

Davis doesn’t need to say anything to invite comparison to the Greek Freak. The two-time league MVP is considered by plenty of observers to be the best overall player in the NBA, with added credibility from his 2021 title and a Finals MVP award – and big men with Davis’ talent are always going to have to put their resumes side-by-side.

But measuring up is not Davis’ focus going into his third season in L.A., he said after Wednesday’s practice. His primary goal is to stay healthy.

“I want to be able to play all 82 (games),” he said. “And if I’m not, I don’t want it to be injury-based where I can’t play. That’s my goal. The more I’m on the floor, the more I can help my team and its chance of winning when I’m playing.”

While it might seem like a relatively modest aim, it’s not. Davis has never managed to shake the “injury-prone” label, frequently dinged with injuries throughout his previous 10 seasons. In the last two, he has played just 76 of 154 games. He’s only played 70 games in a season twice, the last time in 2017-18.

Even when healthy, Davis’ on-court performance has taken a dip since his heralded run during the 2020 playoffs on the way to a title. Last season, the 29-year-old averaged 23.2 points and 9.9 rebounds, but his outside shooting took a nosedive (18.6% from 3-point range).

It’s probably cold comfort that Davis now says this, too, was partially due to a wrist injury that he battled throughout the second half of the season. But the upshot is that he expects his shooting to bounce back when he hits the court this season.

“That’s not an excuse, but it was tough for me to shoot how I wanted to shoot. I couldn’t really follow through,” he said. “But like I’ve said, I’m 100% healthy. I feel great. You can ask guys around here, I’m really shooting the ball. … Wherever coach puts me on the floor, mid-range, post, perimeter, if I’ve got a shot, I’m gonna shoot it.”

That will be critical for Davis’ fit in a positionless, four-out, one-in offense that could feature him beginning possessions on the wing or even above the break (where the 3-point line changes from an arc to a straight line). Coach Darvin Ham said there is an organic flow to his system that will allow Davis to find his favorite spots on the floor – the left block, for example – but, if Davis can’t draw defenders out from the basket, the Lakers will often find themselves being crushed in the paint again this season.

However, Davis might even be more fundamental on the defensive end. He sneered reflecting on last season’s defensive effort, which saw the Lakers finish 21st in defensive rating. Ham said Davis’ versatility as a big man who can sit back in pick-and-roll coverages but also switch when necessary is key to his schemes – and Davis is taking well to the challenge.

“You can see the eagerness in his eyes,” Ham said. “Like, he wants to learn. He wants to be on the same page with everyone else in terms of how we communicate those coverages. … It’s been really good.”

When asked if he wants to win NBA Defensive Player of the Year – an award Davis has set out to win before, but finished runner-up to Antetokounmpo in 2020 – he demurred: “If we can lock in defensively and win ball games and I play to the level I’m capable of playing, that stuff comes. But, I’m not going out thinking I need to do this, need to do that to win an award. I just play basketball.”

Maybe it will disappoint Lakers fans to see Davis not chasing such accolades. But playing 82 games could be a good springboard for more ambitious goals.

DEFENSE WINNING OUT?

It might not seem fair that Davis, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook all played on the same team in the last scrimmage of Wednesday’s practice – except for the fact that they didn’t win.

Davis said the Lakers’ star trio got “torched” in the session, which was not open to media observers. He cited the play of Patrick Beverley, Juan Toscano-Anderson and two-way rookie Scotty Pippen Jr. as difference-makers in the scrimmage.

It was unclear if Beverley was taking a victory lap or showing some concern when asked about the final scrimmage after practice.

“That’s the problem,” he said of beating the Big Three. “Competition-wise, I’ve been a part of a lot of wins since I’ve been with the Lakers. So I just hope it keeps going.”

If you believe in omens, two practice observers might have inspired the underdog squad: Ben Wallace and Derek Fisher. Fisher is best remembered as an essential role player on five Laker championship squads; Wallace is fresh off his Hall of Fame enshrinement after winning four Defensive Player of the Year awards in a career spent mostly with the Detroit Pistons.

He also happens to be one of Ham’s close friends, going back to their time as teammates including Detroit’s 2004 title. While Ham is hopeful that his defense takes on Wallace’s competitiveness and “no quit” mentality, he’s not expecting anyone to resemble Big Ben on the court.

“Did you ever watch Ben Wallace? I wouldn’t even try to hold anybody’s feet to that fire, man,” he said. “I mean, hopefully, they get close. Maybe in the same galaxy, but not on the same planet.”

Still, players picked up on the visitors, and it certainly didn’t escape Beverley’s attention that another gritty, defense-first figure had come to watch practice.

“That’s the ultimate respect: You know he paved the way for guys like me,” Beverley said. “Hall of Fame, those blue-collar guys, they’re starting to let them in. … I mean, what he’s done undrafted, a lot of people haven’t done and still can’t do.”