"AD felt it imperative to back up words that he used over weekend" - 5x NBA champion comments on Anthony Davis' leadership in LA Lakers' win
Anthony Davis will be a happy man. The 2020 NBA champion came in for some high praise from five-time NBA champion and former LA Lakers player Derek Fisher following his dominant performance against the Brooklyn Nets.
Speaking to Spectrum SportsNet, a day after the Lakers picked up their third win of the season, Fisher said of Davis' play:
"AD felt it imperative to back up the words that he used over the weekend. After the tough loss Friday night, he felt like he had to step up and lead by example.
"Said a lot of great things about guys holding themselves accountable and taking responsibility for the mistakes that were made. He came out and played with force right from the [opening] tip."
The win against Brooklyn on Sunday saw Davis produce, arguably, his best game of the season. The eight-time All-Star had a season-high 37 points and pulled down 18 rebounds (another season-high). Ten of those 18 rebounds were on the offensive glass, a new career-high for AD.
.@derekfisher analyzes Anthony Davis' leadership to help the #Lakers snap their losing streak. https://t.co/MUu1BTiblv
Fisher was fulsome with his praise for Davis in the immediate aftermath of the game as well. He told Spectrum SportsNet soon after the Lakers beat the Nets 116-103:
"The responsibility of the best players on the team, through your performance, through your voice sometimes, but mainly by your example, is to make sure everybody else knows what time it is.
"Anthony Davis, right from the start of the game tonight, let his teammates know that, 'Come through me. I'm going to make sure that we bring what we need to bring tonight to get this win.'"
"I try to come in every night and be dominant" - Anthony Davis tells Derek Fisher after his big game versus Brooklyn Nets
Following the win against the Brooklyn Nets, Anthony Davis also told Derek Fisher that he tries to put his stamp on the game each time he takes the floor. He said:
"I try to do that every night, Fish [Fisher]. Except for this game, in the second-half, they didn't come double. So I had a lot of one-on-ones and just trying to be aggressive. Usually, in the first-half, it's one-on-one and in the second-half they send a double team right on the catch and I try to make plays.
"Seeing that they wasn't doubling at all, I decided I'm going to go to work and get a bucket or if I don't have a shot there, I'll make the right play for my teammates. I try to come in every night and be dominant.
"Obviously, the dominance was doubly important today. Just getting into this four-day stretch where we get to relax and recover, just wanted to make sure that we came out with a win."
Davis is averaging 24.3 ppg and 11.2 rpg for the Lakers this season. With LeBron James out injured, the purple-and-gold franchise will continue to depend heavily on Davis even as the 29-year-old forward battles a lingering back injury.
You can see the full Anthony Davis postgame interview with Spectrum SportsNet here.