NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

September 29, 2020

Anthony Davis

Los Angeles Lakers

Practice Day

Q. Anthony, wondering what, if anything, you've learned about yourself through just this crazy year? It's almost been a calendar year since you took off for China. Throughout everything on the court, off the court, what's going through your mind as you now approach Game 1 of the Finals?

ANTHONY DAVIS: It's special. It's been a crazy year. For us to continue to be a step closer to our dreams, to reach our goals, it's special.

I think our team has been through the most this year, and we just kept on pushing, kept on fighting. With everything that's been going on, i kind of think the hiatus was actually good for us. It kind of just let us regroup because we had such a crazy year. The Lakers had such a crazy year.

Now we want to make sure that we finish this thing off right. Our team is a team that handled adversity this year. We’ve been resilient. And now we feel like it's our jobs to finish the season off the way we wanted to start it, the same way we wanted to start it. We're four wins away from that, and it seems like it's all just come full circle.

Q. When did the mood for you guys change from celebration to it's time to lock in and think about this next challenge? And how did you notice that happening, that change in mentality?

ANTHONY DAVIS: The next day. That night we celebrated the Conference Finals championship, and then the next day we had an off-day, guys watched the game together, and the next day after that we were locked in. We celebrated for that night, and then it was back to preparation for either team. At that moment when Miami won, it was time to lock in to Miami.

Miami is a special team. They're a team who a lot of people thought they shouldn't be here, but they're a team who fights. They're a team who's tough. They make big-time plays, got big-time players on their team, guys who are in their first year, second years who are playing huge for them right now with a lot of confidence. It's not going to be easy for us, but it's a team who very much deserves to be here. And they've shown why all season, all playoffs.

Q. I'm wondering, what do you remember about the Heat with LeBron when you were first coming into the league and those teams?

ANTHONY DAVIS: Yeah, I remember Dallas, the first one, and Miami. That's when I really kind of started locking in to the Finals. I've always watched it, but I started to set real goals and real dreams of being here one day from that 2011 team. And then just kind of been watching ever since.

He's a guy who obviously when he played against his former teams, he wants to win very bad, very badly, just like everyone else does. But to be back in the Finals against Miami I think means a lot more to him winning this than anyone else. I think this championship is probably second behind Cleveland, being able to get this one for him.

I think this one is going to be a tough one. People said it's going to be the toughest championship in NBA history from a mental standpoint just because of the circumstances. But it's been fun to watch him. He goes to the Finals every year. Win or lose, he always comes back the next year. And to finally get back after last year and go against his former team, I'm pretty sure he's going to have a competitive series.

Q. I know you want to approach this series in terms of the schemes and the team structure that your coaching staff wants to accomplish, but how much are you putting yourself or putting this series on your shoulders, the matchup with Bam Adebayo and how you can influence the series based on that?

ANTHONY DAVIS: Yeah, Bam is a great player. Bam is a lot like Jokic. He handles the ball a lot, pushes them on the breaks for them, he makes great passes, scores. He's like their energy guy as well. So, it'll be fun. Two Kentucky guys. Coach Cal probably texted and called me enough about that.

But it's going to be a fun matchup. I know a lot of people are looking forward to that matchup. It's going to put, I think, whoever wins that matchup, their team will probably have a better chance of winning the series. But he's developed so much since coming out of college and even last year, he was able to do so much for that team. That team leans on him a lot. I think it was Game 4 where he took that pressure, and took the blame for not playing well, and ended up losing. And he comes out in Game 5 and almost had a triple-double.

For a guy to be in his second year, he wants that pressure, wants the big-time moments, wants to make the big-time plays for his team, it's going to be a fun matchup.

Q. I wondered if there was one specific thing you can point to from your time at Kentucky that you think, there's a bunch of young Kentucky guys, you mentioned Bam and there are others including yourself, that have thrived right away in the NBA, if there's something specific about that time at Kentucky that you feel like really got you ready for it.

ANTHONY DAVIS: Coach Cal. He really runs his practices and that program like an NBA program. Obviously, he coached in the league, so he knows what it takes to get there. I think that's an advantage for all players who go to Kentucky. He's able to get you ready in one, two years, and most of the time how you be successful.

I think going there and having a coach who coached in the league, and having a great assistant coaching staff around him, it's like no other. When I was there Rod Strickland was there as well. So a guy who played in the league, who was very successful.

He brings in the right guys, he's a great coach, and like I said, he runs his program like an NBA program. It makes it a lot easier for that transition.

Q. LeBron has talked about how deeply challenging the bubble has been for him. I'm curious for you specifically, what's been your greatest challenge here, and what's the biggest thing you've learned about yourself in this situation?

ANTHONY DAVIS: The biggest challenge for me was not seeing my family, but they're here, so it's kind of good. But just from a basketball standpoint, just learning the game, learning if you really love the game, learning if you've really got what it takes to compete at a high level and win. There are no distractions. All it is is basketball.

For some guys it was tough for them to be here for a long time. You kind of figure out the ones who really love the game and just want to win and just want to play basketball.

A lot of guys on our team loved it, loved it here because we had no distractions. All we've got to do is play basketball. You have no distractions. You don't have to worry about nothing else that's going on in the world and just play. Then when you're outside of the bubble, you've got a million different things coming at you as far as appearances or you have to do this, you have to do that. Where here it's look, let's play basketball. Let's see who wants it more.

Like I said, it's a mental thing. Our guys are mentally tough to withstand this. This is why we're here, about to play Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Q. Rondo was talking a little bit about how it's been 10 years since he's been in the NBA Finals. Obviously, Dwight Howard it's been 11 years. Do you have conversations with these guys, guys that have been -- do they help remind someone like yourself that obviously it's such a tough journey to get here. Those conversations, do you have those with some of the veterans?

ANTHONY DAVIS: Not individually but we usually talk about it as a team when we're out eating dinner or something. Those guys always talk about how tough it is to get to the Finals. I remember I asked Dwight the last time he went. He said 11 years ago. Rondo told me 10. They said it's tough to do. When you have a group who can get there, you've got to take advantage of those moments, because no telling when you're able to get back. It's been years since both of those guys -- LeBron has been fortunate to continuously go to the Finals, but it's not like that for everybody.

I know that this one is special for me because being with those guys saying you don't want to have a 10-year gap, 11-year gap of getting to the Finals. Any time you're there you want to take advantage of that opportunity and maximize the opportunity by winning a championship.

Q. AD, especially since you've gotten to the bubble, what have you learned about LeBron's sort of preparation, teams, postgame stuff, how he takes care of his body, and are there parts of that you've tried to emulate for yourself?

ANTHONY DAVIS: He's very detailed. Like his attention to detail is off the charts, to every series, every game. He's locked in as soon as he steps into the arena. Takes care of his body. He sleeps more than anybody I know. So those things, like the things he does now -- he has all this recovery stuff shifting and stuff like that, but it's why he's been so dominant for 17 years. It seems like he's aging backwards, and it's because he takes care of his body. He's always on me about things. If he sees something he'll try it this way. I can be up all night, don't need to sleep. Sometimes I just can't sleep, so he's like, here, try my sleep app, the Calm app. He's always trying to give me little hints of how to be better, how to be a better player and help my body.

I think this year, besides like that major fall against the Knicks, I think at least in my time I've been off the floor for my injuries. Just being around him and having him help me take care of my body and some of the things he does, I'm able to stay on the floor and play the game that I love and compete.