Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer
Anthony Davis has sacrificed in a way few superstars are willing to do.
How did the Lakers repay him?
On Saturday evening, they responded to his selflessness and loyalty with a kick in the butt, sending him to Dallas as part of a three-team deal to acquire superstar Luka Dončić.
They apparently didn’t even give him a heads-up.
Sure, this is part of the business. And alerting any of the big names involved in that deal could’ve botched it, sabotaging the Lakers’ chances of securing their future and the Mavericks’ window to get their win-now superstar.
That being said, it’s fair to wonder whether Davis deserved more considering the unique role he embraced for five-and-a-half seasons with the Lakers.
Davis is one of the most underappreciated players in the NBA. And a big reason for that is because he willingly played second fiddle to LeBron James for so much of his prime.
The 31-year-old was willing to exist in James’ shadow, hardly advocating for himself to win awards and willingly ceding the limelight to his childhood-idol-turned-teammate.
James dominated interviews. He received the spotlight. He made the headlines. Even this season, with Davis playing some of the best basketball of his career and James’ game finally showing glimmers of decline as he turned 40 in December, James was still the one getting the recognition. James was named an All-Star starter, despite Davis leading the Lakers in points (25.7) and rebounds (11.9). (The coaches later named Davis an All-Star reserve.)
Davis has taken it all in stride, effortlessly setting aside his ego. It’s something not many NBA superstars would be willing to do for so long.
Look at Kyrie Irving. He was a part of the most remarkable comeback in NBA Finals history, in which he and James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to overcome a 3-1 series deficit against the Golden Warriors to win the franchise’s first-ever title. Yet, one season later, he demanded a trade.
Why?
He no longer wanted to play behind James. He wanted a bigger role. He wanted his star to shine brighter.
You can’t blame him.
James occupies so much air. He’s the face of the league. When he enters the locker room, it often turns quiet out of deference. He has an aura around him that inspires awe. He’s earned that. He’s long been in a two-horse race with Michael Jordan for the title of the greatest player of all time.
But that must be exhausting for another superstar to constantly be around, especially one who has played alongside him from the ages of 26-31. Davis was never prideful. He showed maturity beyond his years, choosing to prioritize learning from James over getting public pats on the back.
For Davis, playing alongside James meant him winning his first championship in 2020. But it also meant always being looked at as James’ sidekick, despite James himself trying to switch the narratives.
Over the last few years, James has made it clear that Davis is the best player on the team. The NBA world, however, has been unable to truly make that mental shift, with the spotlight still firmly focused on James.
Through it all, Davis has put his head down and gone to work. He shed the “street clothes” title bestowed upon him by Charles Barkley for being sidelined too often by playing in 173 of the team’s last 187 games, including only missing six games last season.
He was a four-time All-Star during his Lakers’ tenure. And even though he never won a Defensive Player of the Year award, he didn’t waver in his willingness to focus on the less glamorous side of the court, even if it meant it could affect his point total, and, thus, his chances of being considered for illustrious individual awards.
This season, Davis played as though he held the keys to the kingdom even if they didn’t publicly belong to him. In fact, a few days before he was traded, he had a 42-point, 23-rebound performance against Charlotte, including a 21-point and 11-rebound first quarter.
For Davis, it wasn’t about recognition.
He was loyal to James and the Lakers, regardless of what it meant for himself. And after news of the trade involving him and Dončić sent the NBA world into a tailspin, Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant raised a great point about a glaring double standard in the NBA.
“Players are held to a different standard of loyalty and commitment to a program, but the organizations don’t get held to that same standard,” Durant said.
He’s right.
When players demand a trade, they receive flak for their disloyalty, something Davis knows well after forcing his way from New Orleans to the Lakers in 2019. But when an organization upends a player’s life, sending him and his family to another city in the middle of a season, no one blinks an eye.
Sure, you can’t feel too bad for Davis, who is making $43.2 million amid the turmoil. And you can’t blame the Lakers for going after Dončić, a 25-year-old sensation who could transform them into contenders for years to come.
But still, Davis deserved a bit more recognition for everything he sacrificed.
Davis and James pulled the Lakers out of a six-year playoff drought, making them champions for the first time in 10 years.
And yes, Davis needed James.
But without Davis taking on a role many others wouldn’t have been able to stomach for so long, the Lakers would’ve been in a very different position than they are now.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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