Tennie Sumague
EBC New York Bureau
(Eagle News) – This era in the NBA comprises several elite dynamic duos: Paul George-Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic-Jamal Murray, James Harden-Russell Westbrook, Luka Doncic-Kristaps Porzingis. None, however, stands out more than LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Player egos, jealousy, and high expectations can break a team but the tandem of James and Davis has proven to be successful because of how they complement one another. The Lakers owned the best record out in the West and breezed through the playoffs with wins against the Portland Trailblazers, Houston Rockets, and the Denver Nuggets. The two All-Stars were selected for this year’s All-NBA first team. In Wednesday’s Game 1 win over the Miami Heat, the duo combined for 59 points. Then in Game 2, they did even better with combined 65 Points.
“We’re not jealous of each other,” James said of his relationship with Davis. “In professional sports, you have guys that join forces – call them two Alpha males, two guys that have been dominant in a specific sport on their own respective teams – they get together and talk about how dominant they can be, and they talk about it’s going to be this and that.
“I believe jealousy creeps in a lot, and that is the absolute contrary of what we are. We know who we are. We know what we’re about, and we want the best, seriously, every single day on and off the floor for one another. We’re just not jealous of one another. When you align that with respect, I think the sky’s the limit.”
The feeling is mutual for Davis, who is competing in his first NBA finals in eight seasons in the league.
“I’m not jealous of him, he’s not jealous of me and I think it shows on the court,” said Davis. “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.
“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,” Davis said. “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.”
James and Davis’ relationship started when Davis was still in high school and attended James’ summer basketball camp and continued to build when the duo was part of the 2012 Olympic team.
The only thing Davis is jealous of is that James “has a ring.”
“Hopefully I don’t have to be envious of that much longer. I want to win and [LeBron] has three of them,” said Davis. “So that would be the one thing for sure that I will be jealous about.”
(Eagle News Service)