Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers Photo)
Late in Sunday night’s 106-93 win over Miami that clinched the NBA championship for the Los Angeles Lakers, former UK star Anthony Davis was overcome with emotion. He was getting ready to not only win his first NBA title, but become the first UK player to win a national title, Olympic gold medal and NBA championship.
“Actually, when I came out of the game, I just started feeling it. About 25 seconds left, that feeling just turned into reality. I was 25 seconds from becoming a champion. I got emotional. It’s the type of journey that I’ve been on, my team has been on, the organization has been on — it all came just full circle with this championship. So I just got real emotional,” said Davis.
His star teammate, LeBron James, was having none of that and chased after Davis.
“He was bothering me, saying, ‘You’re soft. Oh, you crybaby.’ I walked to the back, and there was a banner trophy. I kind of grabbed it. Then we walked back out to the court. It was an unbelievable feeling, and just an emotional moment for me,” Davis said.
Davis knows part of his all-time legacy now is that he’s won a NBA championship.
“Not everybody can say that. I wanted to do the same thing in New Orleans (with the team that drafted him). I was there for seven years. You want to go out there and compete for a championship every time you step on the floor,” Davis said.
“It just puts a bigger target on your back, honestly. Teams are going to come after you next year, especially when you’re one of the top players. Guys want to take out the champion. The next four or five years, you have to get better and better. I have to keep improving my game and hopefully I can have this feeling again.”
Davis got to celebrate with his father after the win but admitted in the postgame interview he didn’t exactly remember what he said to his father.
“I had so much champagne, I don’t even remember what I said to my dad. Probably I love him. He’s proud of me and I told him this is why we work, this is why we grind. He congratulated me,” Davis said.
Davis had more to say about what winning meant as far as honoring the memory of Laker great Kobe Bryant.
“For Kobe, I know he’s looking down on us super proud. Before the tragedy, he would come to the game and just tell us, ‘This is y’all year. This is y’all year. Go out and take it.’ He had a lot of confidence in our team. He had a lot of confidence in our organization to go out there and win it this year,” Davis said.
“When we brought out the Mamba jerseys, we had a different swag. It sucks that we didn’t go undefeated (in the Mamba jerseys), but I know he would rather take this championship than a loss in a Mamba jersey. We miss him, and this is definitely for him.”
