Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis had a forgettable campaign in 2020-21 after winning his first ever career championship.
The 28-year-old was maligned by injuries, put up his lowest scoring output since 2013, and was even at one point called out by Draymond Green for being out of shape.
After the LA’s disappointing first round ouster from the playoffs at the hands of the Phoenix Suns, Davis realized he had let the team down. Shortly thereafter, he crafted and put out a plan on how to save the Lakers in 2021-22.
But he didn’t stop there. Talk is cheap; Davis also went to work in the gym to completely transform his body.
“He put a lot of work this off-season into his body, a lot of work,” team head coach Frank Vogel said during a recent appearance on Spectrum’s “LakeShow” podcast.
“We had a moment maybe two weeks ago, where he had been training at home and we had a lot of conversations about concerns we have with our team … And (AD) comes in for a workout, the first time we’ve seen him for a while, and his body looked imposing. And we all just looked at each other like, ‘We’re going to be really good this year. Just looking at that guy right there, we’re going to be really good this year.’”
The results speak for themselves:
This will be a season of redemption for Davis. He has already begun cutting ties with the toxic figures from last year’s Lakers team by not inviting them to his wedding and revealing their shortcomings. Between that and his newly-inspired re-dedication to getting in shape, 2021-22 promises to be a beastly year from him.
Most sports books have the Lakers as No. 2 in title odds after the Brooklyn Nets. If Davis ultimately gets back to playing the way he did during the Lakers’ championship run two years ago, look for LA to give Kevin Durant and Co. a real run for their money.
Jake Paul is ready for war. https://t.co/PmklEb92K8
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 22, 2021
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
