Shannon Sharpe on Anthony Davis and LeBron James' relationship - "I'm not surprised that people have tried to tear AD and LeBron apart"
On February 7, LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer during the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Following the event, a video surfaced of Anthony Davis. While the rest of his teammates celebrated James' historic record, Davis sat on the bench and did not participate.
Fans on social media speculated about the incident. Many believed that there was a rift between the two All-Stars. On Undisputed, Shannon Sharpe said this after the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Chicago Bulls upon LeBron James' return:
"I'm not surprised that people have tried to tear AD and LeBron apart. And it all stems from...I guess that night when he broke the record...AD wasn't cheering...and so he sat," Sharpe said.
Shannon Sharpe also followed through on his comments by giving an example of what he sees whenever he watches the Lakers live:
"And to see the way that they interact...and when LeBron was hurting...Skip, the first person that AD comes to when he on the bench, where does he go? Him and LeBron often, they talking. They sit next to each other. So Skip, if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But I believe they have a great relationship," Sharpe said.
In response to all of the speculation, Anthony Davis said this in an interview with ESPN, regarding his relationship with LeBron James:
"one of the best relationships I think in the NBA as far as duos or teammates, regardless. But they don’t see that. They don’t see the stuff we do off the court and time we hang out with each other. They see on-court stuff," Davis said.
Last night, LeBron James finally made his return to the team, as he dropped 19 points on 6/11 shooting, eight rebounds, and four assists. The last time LeBron and Davis played together was on February 26 against the Dallas Mavericks.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis' time with Lakers
LeBron James and Anthony Davis have played over 136 games together with the Los Angeles Lakers. The dynamic duo were able to win their first championship together during their first regular season in the 2019-20 NBA season.
The two have remained with the team since then. However, they have struggled to return to the NBA Finals as they were eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Phoenix Suns during the 2020-2021 regular season.
The following season, they weren't even able to make the playoffs after losing yet again to the Phoenix Suns.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers (37-38) are ninth in the Western Conference standings with only a few games remaining for the season.