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NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND

February 19, 2017

Anthony Davis

New Orleans, Louisiana - Postgame

West - 192

East - 182

Q. A.D., how did it feel to just take home this MVP right here in your hometown for tonight?
ANTHONY DAVIS: It was amazing. That's what I wanted to do. I stressed that, I think more than enough, to the guys in the locker room before the game that I wanted to get the MVP for this crowd, for this city, and I ended up doing it. Them guys did a great job of just finding me, giving me the basketball. They wanted me to score 50. Every time, Kawhi was like six more points. Or James was like, I'm going to pass you the ball.

Them guys did a great job allowing me to do this. I want to thank all of them. This definitely means a lot to me.

Q. A.D., to have this kind of performance with the season that you've already been having, is this kind of a really high point in your career to have the MVP award, do it in New Orleans, and do it in the midst of what has been one of your best seasons of your career?
ANTHONY DAVIS: I'm just being aggressive. That's really it. Just being aggressive, playing hard, and doing what the team needs. This just kind of adds on to it. Of course, we've got a long way to go to actually do what we want to do, but at the end of the day, I love the city, and I love these guys. We try and do everything we can to turn this thing around for us in the second half of the season.

Q. At what point did you know you were getting close to the record? And what's it like whenever you get to break a record that Wilt holds? That's always crazy.
ANTHONY DAVIS: The next one I'm going to try to do is 100 points. No, I'm kidding. I think I had 32, and then them guys just told me to get 50. Then after that, I was just dunking the ball. I wouldn't say scoring, I was just dunking the ball.

I heard throughout the arena that I beat the record. So I really didn't know. But to be in elite company with Wilt, definitely amazing.

I think getting this trophy, like I said, I wanted to do it for the home crowd, and I definitely did. I think the best part of tonight was definitely winning this trophy for sure.

Q. Congratulations. You had a lot of Malaysian fans watching from back home. They couldn't make it to New Orleans. But we checked on Twitter, and they all voted for you. Could you say anything to your Malaysian fans out there?
ANTHONY DAVIS: I appreciate it. Thank you guys. Thanks for your continued support all the way from Malaysia. Hopefully, you guys keep supporting me and the Pelicans throughout the rest of the season.

Q. When those guys started deferring to you, you know, Steve kind of mentioned that you guys had a conversation before the game about them feeding you and getting you toward that MVP. What does that mean to have those guys' respect and to be able to have your place in the league and do it here tonight and all those kinds of things?
ANTHONY DAVIS: Yeah, it means a lot. Actually, the guy who really was trying to break it down for me was Draymond. He said, all right, we got to get to at least 24 by halftime, and then we came out, and he said, we got to get at least 30 before you come out of the third. So we were just kind of breaking it down. Then, of course, all the other guys were adding on to it and trying to get me the ball.

Like you said, me and Coach Kerr had a conversation before that we both wanted me to get MVP for the city and do it in front of the home crowd, which was a lot of fun.

Q. Where does this stand just in terms of accomplishments you've had in your career?
ANTHONY DAVIS: Pretty high. I'd say below the gold medals and then the National Championship, but this is definitely a prize, an award that I'm going to cherish forever.

Q. Anthony, this was an All-Star game that wasn't even supposed to be in New Orleans. Can you tell us a little bit, now that you guys did have this All-Star game, what it means to the city? And especially coming off of what happened with the tornadoes a couple of weeks ago. Just your performance and what this meant to the city to have this All-Star game.
ANTHONY DAVIS: It meant a lot to the city. Of course, the tornadoes hit a couple weeks ago. So to kind of bring -- I want to say joy back to the city with All-Star and, of course, Mardi Gras definitely helped out. So this is huge for our city. Of course, stuff just keeps happening to New Orleans, but it's a strong city. Strong city, and we always bounce back. With All-Star here, especially with Mardi Gras going on as well, was huge for the city.

Q. I know we talked on Friday, and you said you let management do the management issues, you don't deal with that, but this weekend, did you get a chance to maybe talk to some of these guys that can possibly be future teammates, recruit them, show them how great the city is? And you proved tonight that playing with one of the premier players in the league has its benefits.
ANTHONY DAVIS: Not really. Everybody is running around. When you get in the locker room, you don't talk about your teams or anything like that, but it was fun just playing with these guys. Like you said, I let the management do what they do, and when the time will come with something, they come talk to me, and I tell them yes or no -- well, I give my opinion. I give my opinion, and then we go from there. We try to have a solution. But I let them do their job.

This whole weekend was fun playing with these guys for sure.

Q. Anthony, when Durant had the lob to Westbrook, the whole bench went crazy. Coach Kerr said it was a good icebreaker --
ANTHONY DAVIS: Defining moment in history right there.

Q. What was your take, just breaking the ice with those guys?
ANTHONY DAVIS: Honestly, I didn't -- I didn't know what to expect when they was on the floor, but when that happened, I'm glad a time-out occurred so we could get like everybody's reaction. It was an amazing reaction, everybody clapping. I think they high fived. Steph threw water and everything like that. So it was great to see.

Q. Anthony, it seemed like Russell Westbrook was actually pushing you the whole game. Was that part of the plan? Was that a surprise to you?
ANTHONY DAVIS: No, he got hot. He got hot. I think he had like seven threes. So we kept feeding him because he was hot. And then when he came out, the guys started looking for me again. I don't know, I was kind of nervous for a second. When Russ gets on fire, he start doing like this and all type of stuff. But he wasn't missing. He wasn't missing. He won two of them, so I think he told Coach to sit him out so I could get this one.

Q. Anthony, you just said that, when the management is looking to acquire a new player, that you will give them your opinion. Now there are reports that the Pelicans might have talks with the Kings about a DeMarcus Cousins trade. What is your opinion on him and on the possibility of just getting him to New Orleans?
ANTHONY DAVIS: He's a great player, dominant in this league, of course, with all the numbers he put up. But I haven't heard anything. So I'm going to let the management, once again, do what they do, and when the time is right, they'll come talk to me about it. Of course, DeMarcus is an elite player in this league.

Q. A.D., you've obviously scored more than 52 in games where everybody was playing defense. There have been some comments from some of the guys, Kyrie and Kerr, about maybe having to provide more incentives to win and play maybe a little harder. How did these 52 points feel compared to your other 50-point games, and what do you think about that?
ANTHONY DAVIS: It was fun. It was definitely fun. Of course, this 52 was -- 50 of them was all dunks. So a lot more stress on my knees. But I think it was -- I think you want to see defense. Of course, All-Star is about offense and giving the crowd a show, but if they want to see a little more defense as fans and everything -- I mean, nobody wants to go out here and get hurt. It's all about fun. You probably need to do a few more incentives. I love it. I don't really care. I'll go out there and have fun.

I didn't play any defense today. I was offensive-minded tonight.

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