LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – As LeBron James sat in front of a video conferencing screen after the Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 3 win on Saturday, a falsetto voice could be heard from the camera saying, “Oooh, LeBron,” as James was asked about passing on Tim Duncan for no. 2 on the list of all winning playoff winners.
The ridiculous adulation came from Anthony Davis, whose 29 points, 11 handballs and 8 assists in LA’s 116-108 win to go 2-1 up on the Portland Trail Blazers would have been even more impressive if James had not 38 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists of his own.
This was not a rift. After all, it’s the way James and Davis show respect, no matter how unforgiving, as the Lakers’ co-leaders.
“I mean, we’re two guys who’m just having fun,” Davis said when asked about his relationship with James. “We like to work. We like to win. But from the court, we’re just two guys who like to have fun. Two guys who’s big kids and play Xbox and have nights back in LA.”
The two first-round wins over Portland that James and Davis have put together so far have lifted James’ career playoff total to 158, bringing him past Duncan’s total of 157. Only former Lakers guard Derek Fisher has more, with 161.
“It’s just always surreal for me when my name is associated with one of the grits,” James said of the feat. “And of course, you know how great Tim Duncan was in this league with that franchise. … Basically he lived in the postseason. That was his address. So for me to be linked to a big one in the Big Fundamental, it means a lot. “
James and Duncan played each other three times in the NBA Finals – 2007, 2013 and 2014 – with the San Antonio Spurs winning twice. After their first meeting, a 4-0 sweep by the Spurs after James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the championship round at the age of 22, Duncan grabbed James by both arms when the series was over and told him, “This will you’ll be competing for a little while. “Then he joked,” But I appreciate you giving it to us this year. “
Duncan’s words were precise. James has gone on to win four MVPs and three championships and has since made eight Finals appearances.
“How did I feel at that moment? We were just so full that I did not feel great. I actually felt s —,” James said Saturday. “And he gave me a smile by saying that.”
James has taken a similar approach because he is gracious to his peers in the sport, but he credits his youth coaches, Dru Joyce, Frank Walker and Keith Dambrot, for instilling a sense of rhythm mastery in him, long for you exchange with Duncan.
“They just gave me so much play, not only on the floor, but also off the floor,” James said. “If you have that kind of knowledge and you continue to grow through the years, I feel like it’s very important for me to give it back to the next generation if they need it, if they want it.”
In Davis, James has found a willing ship to fill with the wisdom he has accumulated over his 17-year career. Why did 35-year-old James and 27-year-old Davis click so easily?
“Because we’re two guys who know who we are,” James said. “We know who we are as human beings. We try not to be anyone else, but our own identity, our own self.
“And if you know yourself and if you are confident in what you are doing both on and off the floor and you know what you represent, then there is no ego. There is no ego. We want both of us to succeed, both on and off the floor.We want our families to be happy.We want to try to make each other as happy as possible.There is no ego, so if you can figure that out in life – who you are and what you stand for – nothing else matters. “
Their joint influence, but three games in their first postseason as teammates, is already historic. Saturday’s departure marked the first time two Lakers teammates have gone for 25-plus points and 10-plus rebounds since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal did so in Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals against the Sacramento Kings. By tackling eight assists per piece on her stat lines, her night was made even rarer. They became the second pair of teammates to go 25-10-8 in a playoff game, according to data from Elias Sports Bureau, by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in 2014.
While James apparently explained it after he and Davis combined to score or assist on 92 of the Lakers’ 116 points (79%) in Game 3 – “I think we work perfectly well together” – Davis was asked if he ever advised gives to James.
“He’s been doing this for a long time,” Davis said. “There’s nothing I can say he has not already heard or seen. My job is just to be there. If he wants to talk about something, I’m there. But in the game he’s so locked up. I “I’ll talk to him sometime, he’s just looking straight ahead. I’ll be like, ‘Okay, he heard me. I’m just letting him go.’
“He’s been doing this for a long time, has been in a lot of situations in this situation. It’s not much he has not seen. I still say what I had to say, and even if he does not respond, I know he is listening. “
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