It was a moment not to be missed — unless you were Anthony Davis.
As a raucous crowd and Lakers teammates rose to watch LeBron James break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record, the star forward slumped to the bench in a moment caught by one of the many cameras capturing history.
James made the turnaround jumper to put his career point total at 38,888 at the end of the third quarter, setting off a celebration that included Abdul-Jabbar, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and James’ family.
“I don’t think it was emotional for us,” Davis said of his feelings before the game. “We tried our best to go out and play the game of basketball. Obviously, when it happened the emotions for Bron, our organization, our team, our fans, the world, the emotions kick in and everyone was very celebratory in the moment. Coming in, we tried to keep it as a normal game as possible.”
While the plaudits came down for James, fans were less kind to Davis for his somewhat indifferent reaction at the moment.
“Um… what,” Ringer found Bill Simmons, who was at the Crypto.com Arena, wrote.
“Man, Anthony Davis could care less,” WEEI host and ex-Patriot Christian Fauria responded.
Of course, one video does not tell the whole story about the relationship between the two stars. TNT cameras later caught James and Davis sharing a special moment on the bench.
“I love you. I just want to let you know I love you bro,” an emotional James said to Davis. “That’s all I wanted to let you know.”
James pushed the Lakers to acquire Davis and give the franchise a second superstar in the 2019 offseason. The move led to an NBA championship inside the Disney bubble the following season.
“It’s been great,” Davis said of James breaking the record and his impact on the team. “It’s been a big part of the team’s success, my success, a leader in all kind of facets in the game on and off the floor. A great human being, family guys, checks all the boxes. Definitely, well-deserved. He put a lot of tears into this game, so I am just honored to witness it all.”
With Davis hampered by injuries, it has been challenging for the Lakers to replicate that success. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Suns in 2021 and failed to make the postseason a year ago. It will take a dramatic turnaround from the 25-30 team to make the play-in tournament, let alone be a threat to the top teams in the Western Conference.
James’ record-setting night came in a 133-130 loss to the Thunder, a team Los Angeles is competing with for a top-10 seed.
“Win games. It’s simple. They shot the ball extremely well against our coverage. They made tough shots. We have to win games. It’s very simple,” Davis said.