NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

October 1, 2020

Anthony Davis

Los Angeles Lakers

Practice Day

Q. LeBron was just talking about how jealousy and envy can be a thing when you put two alpha dogs together on an NBA team or sort of just in general, and he said that hasn't been the case at all with you guys. I wondered if you had expected that when the trade happened, when you first teamed up with LeBron, and then how that's played out throughout the season for you.

ANTHONY DAVIS: The thought never crossed my mind when the trade happened. I'm not jealous of him, he's not jealous of me. I think it shows on the court.

Obviously, that can always creep in when you've got, like you said, two alpha males on the same team. But I think when you've got two guys who are very selfless and want to win as bad as both of us want to, the rest of it goes away and just takes care of itself.

Jealousy has never been a thing on our team from anyone. Everyone is extremely excited for the other guy. When guys get awards or accolades, our team is the first ones to congratulate them. We make sure that we bring it up in film or after the game or whenever we see it. But no one is jealous of one another.

Q. You talked last night about how there were the little nerves at first but then once you started playing the game they went away and then you were just playing basketball. Preparing for Game 2, does it feel the same as it had felt in other series, or is there a difference for you because this is the Finals?

ANTHONY DAVIS: It was the same in other series. Obviously that Game 1, you want to play so well and get off to a 1-0 start, but now that you've had that Game 1, you know what it's going to feel like, you know what it takes. Now it's just about going out and competing at a high level, the adjustments you have to make. You know what you can do better, you know what you did well. So for me, Game 2 I think will be a lot more easier for me from a nerves standpoint to just go out there and play.

Q. Anthony, I guess it's a follow-up on that first question on the jealousy angle. What's allowed, beyond that, the friendship to flourish? I know you joked about "Step Brothers" the other night, but there is probably a serious component to the relationship that's made this work?

ANTHONY DAVIS: We hold each other accountable. When we watch film or even during the course of a game, if I did something wrong, he tells me. If he does something wrong, I tell him. I think that's what makes it work, knowing that we trust one another to make reads, to make calls. We're able to talk to one another. Some guys on some teams are afraid to jump on the star player, and it's everyone on our team. Our team, a guy can tell a guy something, and we know it's coming from a great place and we know it's coming from a guy who wants to win.

Me and Bron has always been able to communicate with each other about whatever it is on the floor, which I think helps us knowing that whatever he's telling me is coming from a good place, knowing that he wants to win.

And then off the floor we just, since I went to his camp and then in 2012 on the Olympic team, we just kind of built that relationship, which kind of lasted until today.

Q. LeBron said part of the key to you guys' relationship is that there is no jealousy and this is meant to be in good fun. If you were to be jealous or envious of anything that LeBron has or is or does, what would it be?

ANTHONY DAVIS: That he has a ring. But he made a promise to me, and so far he's kept it. Hopefully I don't have to be envious of that much longer.

I want a ring, and he has three of them. That would be the one thing for sure that I would be jealous about.

Q. You have talked about how you've picked up things from LeBron and sort of figured out your way along this playoff push. Do you feel like your effort in Game 1 yesterday just reflects even personal growth maybe in confidence, maybe in preparedness or anything else from that Game 1 when you played against Portland and you were just starting this run?

ANTHONY DAVIS: Oh, for sure. I mean, I think our entire team has grown from our first series until now. I think everyone's confidence is very high. I think guys know where they're going to get their shots, what we're doing on defense. Guys trust each other more, got locked in more. So, it all ties together when you get to this stage.

But for me personally, having a team like this, a coaching staff like this and a guy like Bron and Rondo and J.R. specifically, and Markieff, who always instills confidence into me. I saw an article that Markieff said he thought I was the best player even though we have Bron. He tells me that before every game. Every game since Markieff has been on this team, before I go on the court, he always says, "You're the best player in the world." Having a guy constantly tell you that, it gives you enough confidence to go out there and just play. Play with the swag that you know you have. When you have guys always talking to you in your ear about greatness and seeing Bron, how great he is and the things he does on the floor, and guys on our team, as well, who do great things on the floor, it makes you want to be better. It makes you want to fit in with that group.

That's what I try to do, just go out there and play with a lot of effort, a lot of energy, knowing that it helps the team. The team starts playing with a lot of energy, a lot of effort, and it ends up usually working out for us.

Q. KCP is shooting like 45 percent from three, I think, since the first game of the Playoffs. How much has that spacing made life easier on you during this stretch?

ANTHONY DAVIS: A ton. We've been able to shoot the ball actually really well, and it created so much space for everybody. For me, Bron, Rondo, Alex, Markieff when he gets into the post. You can't help off of him. He's one guy -- Danny, the shooters on our team, those guys, you can't help off of, and when they're making threes like that and scoring in the paint, we're able to beat you multiple ways. Especially when Miami goes zone, the best way to get a team out of a zone is shooting them out of a zone if you're not getting to the paint.

When I saw KC hit those two big threes for us in the first quarter to get us going, if we don't make those threes, it could be a different game. The confidence we have in him, the confidence he has in himself to go out every night locked and loaded and ready to make big shots for us is key. We're going to need that for the rest of the series.

Q. Just want to get your thoughts on, we talked so much about what you do on the defensive side. How helpful is it with some of these role players, how much easier does it make your job when KCP, Dwight Howard, Alex Caruso, you've got a lot of guys chipping in on the defensive side?

ANTHONY DAVIS: Oh, great. KCP and AC specifically take the role and the challenge of guarding their best player on the perimeter or the best shooter. I think they did a good job on Duncan Robinson last night. Tyler Herro, he got going early, but they started to lock into him. They take it personal. They don't want guys scoring on them. So, when you've got guys like that on the defensive end and then you include a Defensive Player of the Year in Dwight and a guy like myself, LeBron and Rondo, when we're all locked in together defensively, we're a better team.

For us, it starts with defense to lead our fast break and lead our offense. When we've got guys coming out playing scrappy, playing tough on the defensive end, that's what we want. We just try and make it harder for the other team.

Q. LeBron talked about in terms of his leadership how he doesn't like to just talk about it, he wants to be about it. What have you learned about the way he locks in and carries himself and approaches this time?

ANTHONY DAVIS: He's absolutely right. He'll say something, but at the same time he wants to make sure that he shows it on the floor. Like he's saying that he has to be ready to move in rotation, in film or during walk-through, he's going to make sure he's there, and if he's not, it goes back to guys getting on him. He says, My bad, won't happen again. Or he knows during the game, like he tells everybody, My fault.

We've never been a team to not do what you preach, especially him. He's very locked in right now into the game plan. We try to limit our mistakes as much as possible, knowing that we can't give a team like the Heat easy buckets off our mistakes. We're locked in, he's locked in and we try to play mistake-free basketball as much as possible.

Q. Despite the fact that you guys didn't hit your usual numbers for points in the paint and fast break points, you were able to blow this thing open and get it to 30 at a certain point. You had those three runs, one in the first, second and third quarter. What did you like about still getting to that and have those sustainable runs despite not having your signature aspects offensively?

ANTHONY DAVIS: Yeah, I think we did it with stops. We got some stops, and like I said, guys made open shots, offensive rebounds, we crashed the glass and guys shared the ball. We were cutting. But at the end of the day it all started with our defense, to be able to limit a great scoring team who could shoot, with their shooters, and also get to the paint and get to the free-throw line. And we were able to limit those scoring options for them and be able to go on the other end and score ourselves.

As long as we keep playing defense and keep doing the things we're doing defensively, then we should be fine.