Even with a nine-year career in the NBA, Anthony Davis is still occasionally impressed with how a childhood dream came true.
The big man from the Lakers was browsing Instagram on the bus to the arena before a playoff game last season, when he came across a post about how many postseason records his teammate LeBron James has. He sent a message to James inspired by nostalgia and remembering another bus trip he made from Chicago to Akron as a teenager to attend James’ camp.
“’Seeing you for the first time, you are an inspiration to all of us, you may not know it,’” Davis recalls writing on Sunday, sharing the message with reporters. “’And it’s crazy how everything closes and now we are on the same team fighting for a championship.’ ”
Davis, James and the Lakers won the championship. Now with the league’s best record at the start of the season, they began to consider the next part of the dream: a dynasty.
It is a natural consideration to go to a confrontation with the Golden State Warriors on the day of Martin Luther King Jr. Although Klay Thompson’s end-of-season injury took some of the air out of the confrontation, it still presents itself as a baton delivery: the last NBA dynasty facing the team that could be next.
“I don’t mean to say that we took over: the Warriors won three out of four or something, so we haven’t won that yet,” said Davis. “But I think whoever the title champion is, maintains the standard that each team wants to become.”
Despite all the bullshit in the back, the Lakers (11-3) looked strong in their game, despite the disadvantage of a shorter off-season than any other team except Miami. They have, on average, a margin of 11 points, the best in the NBA, in their games, and the most telling thing is that they did not have to extend their stars to win victories: no one in the Lakers averages more than 32 minutes per game.
It is not just this year that the Lakers hope to be in the running: almost all major players have a multi-year contract. Davis has the longest contract until 2025, but James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are up to 2023, and Kyle Kuzma is up to 2024. Montrezl Harrell and Marc Gasol can stay with the Lakers next season. The biggest question left is Dennis Schröder, who expressed interest in signing an extension with the Lakers before arriving at the free agency this summer.
With so many key pieces blocked, it is natural that the Lakers’ ambitions have a longer track. Kuzma said the team is focused on the goal of winning their second championship together, which would create the basis for a special era. This group of nine players who have now returned knows how difficult it is to win a title – Kuzma cited the Spurs race under Gregg Popovich as inspiration.
“We are trying to reach that plateau and peak to continue to win championships – a difficult and elevated goal, but I think that is what we all strive to do,” he said. “Seeing guys sign contracts, be part of a championship window and just try to make it happen. We have so little time in the NBA and even less than a window, when it comes to dynasties, to make this really happen. ”
The Warriors are losing 6-6 after an injury in the 2019-20 season, which left them with the worst NBA record. Thompson’s last setback apparently cut his opportunity to compete for another championship this year, but Steph Curry is still one of the league’s top scorers, ranking third with 28.4 ppg on Sunday afternoon.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said that going to the finals for five consecutive years was difficult to manage until the end, when long seasons and rising expectations began to take over his group. He sees the Lakers in an idyllic part of his teenage dynasty when he is still at the top of the world: For the Warriors, this translated into a record 73 wins in their second season, after winning the first of three titles.
“They have the confidence that comes with winning a championship and they don’t have the fatigue that comes with winning multiple championships,” said Kerr. “This is really a sweet spot.”
The Lakers also seem to recognize him. James went to four consecutive finals with the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, which can help moderate the group’s sense of invincibility. Kuzma and Davis seemed to downplay that the Lakers are already in the middle of a dynasty, but acknowledged that they have a chance to create one.
Davis thinks a lot about the day he sent the message to James and how much anxiety he felt as he entered the locker room worried that his teammate would mock him for being “soft”. But James said nothing until after the game itself, when he offered a similar feeling, Davis said.
“It’s a really cool time to be able to play alongside one of the guys you admired,” said Davis. “Especially now in the years to come.”