NBA Playoffs: LeBron James says there is no jealousy between him and Anthony Davis

LeBron James has been the best player on his team all his life. Even as a 19-year-old rookie with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he led his team in points per game.

James’ historical greatness has elevated his teammates to heights they probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. However, it has also been a problem for his teammates who strive to be as great as him, or simply resent the idea of ​​being the number two option. Fortunately for the Lakers, that hasn’t been an issue between James and his late fellow superstar Anthony Davis.

“We are not jealous of each other,” James said of his relationship with Davis during the NBA Finals media availability Thursday. “I think that’s for the best. In professional sports, there are guys who join forces: two alpha males, that’s what they call them … they get together and talk about how dominant they can be and talk about how this and that is going to be. I think jealousy creeps a lot and that’s the opposite of who we are.

“We know who we are, we know what it is about and we seriously want the best every day, on and off the pitch, for others. We’re just not jealous of each other, and I think when you align it with respect, I think the sky is the limit. “

James experienced the damning effects of a jealous superstar teammate firsthand with Kyrie Irving.

Photo by Jason Miller / Getty Images

Before James ‘return to Cleveland in 2014, Irving, the top pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, was the Cavaliers’ only star. When he and James joined forces, James cast a shadow over Irving, and Irving left Cleveland to escape that shadow despite their success together.

It should come as no surprise, then, that these comments from James came on the same day that Irving apparently hit James saying that Kevin Durant is the first teammate he’s ever had to be able to throw shots down the stretch as well. as I can. Here is the full quote via the podcast “The ETCs”:

“One thing I’ve always been comfortable with is… I felt like I was the best option on all the teams I played for down the stretch. This is the first time in my career that I can say, ‘That mother [expletive] you can make that shot too. “

Irving clarified that he didn’t mean it as a slight to any of his previous teammates, but based on James’ comments Wednesday, it certainly seemed like it was taken as such. However, that’s all in the past.

James is three games away from winning a championship with Davis, which Davis says will resolve any jealousy he feels toward James.

“He’s got a ring,” Davis said when asked to choose something about James that he’s jealous of. “But he made me a promise and so far, he has kept it, so I hope he doesn’t have to envy me for much longer. I want to win and he has three, so that would be the only thing I would be jealous of. “

Beyond that, Davis said his ego hasn’t clashed with James’ because he hasn’t been there, not for them or anyone else on the team.

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images

“I’m not jealous of him, he’s not jealous of me, and I think it shows on the court,” Davis said. “That can always come up when you have two alpha males on the same team, but when you have guys who are very selfless and want to earn as much as we both want, the rest disappear.” and takes care of itself.

“Jealousy has never been something on our team, on anyone’s part. Everyone is very excited for the other boy. When kids receive awards or recognition, our team is the first to congratulate them. We bring it up in the movie or after the game, whenever we see it. But no one is jealous of each other. “

We haven’t heard anything but good things about the Lakers’ chemistry all season, but the playoffs are where the team’s chemistry is really put to the test, and they’ve passed every test they’ve had thus far with flying colors despite that more than half of the equipment is new.

Some of that can be attributed to the team’s veterans, starting with James, but it can also be attributed to how everyone on the team, from top to bottom, has bought into the team-first mentality that Frank Vogel has promoted since the start of the game. season. season: the idea that no player is bigger than the Lakers.

The Lakers have one goal and that is to win a championship. The best way to do that? Together.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast at iTunes, Spotify, Stapler or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.