Anthony Davis: LeBron James told me ‘I’m playing like my old self’

For the last couple of years, Anthony Davis has been a big target of criticism from Los Angeles Lakers fans.

They have accused him of being injury-prone, lazy, passive and complacent while asserting that his game has declined relative to what he displayed when the team won the NBA championship in the 2019-20 season.

As this season started, Davis was showing a concerning trend of fading in the second halves of games after playing very well prior to intermission.

But in his last three games, with LeBron James out due to an adductor strain, the superstar big man has played at the top of his game.

He has had at least 30 points and 16 rebounds in each of those contests, which included 37 points and 18 rebounds versus the Brooklyn Nets and 38 points and 16 boards against the Detroit Pistons.

After the Lakers’ rout of the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, Davis said James gave him some high praise.

Via Lakers Daily:

“The four-time champion has apparently been giving Davis some positive feedback recently.

“‘We haven’t talked about it, but he did say that I’m playing like my old self, so I’m trying to get back into that rhythm,’ Davis said about James’ feedback to him.”

Davis’ season averages are up to 25.6 points, 12 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots per game while shooting 55.4 percent from the field. His rebounding average and shooting accuracy are higher than they have been in his three prior years with L.A.

During the team’s championship season, he put up 26.1 points on 50.3% shooting, 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 rejections a contest.