Anthony Davis Says He Has Not Thought About Free Agency

Davis, who will become a free agent in October, said he's focused on his team's present instead of his future.

Anthony Davis has been getting used to life in the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World, an endless carousel of practicing with his teammates and then playing video games against them in his hotel room. 

But things are about to get a bit more interesting. 

The Lakers have their first of three scrimmages against Dallas on Thursday before opening the season against the Clippers in nine days en route to trying to win their first championship since 2010.  

"Whoever wins will be the team that’s mentally tough," Davis said in a video conference call Tuesday. "I don’t think it has to do anything about physical attributes. It’s more who is mentally tough to get through just being here, not seeing your family, getting back to work. So I think we have an advantage in that category."

Davis said the Lakers, who are atop the Western Conference with a record of 49-14, are pretty close to where they want to be basketball-wise. There's still some rust. And there's still a few tweaks that need to be made. 

"We were one of the worst teams in transition [defensively], so we've been going over that a ton, watching film on that a ton," Davis said. "But I think everybody came back in shape. You could tell guys have been working during the break. Now it's all about putting it all back together."

Davis will become an unrestricted free agent after a team is crowned in Oct. But he said he's focused on his team's present instead of his future. 

Even during the four-month hiatus when he had all of the time in the world to ponder his life, Davis said he was thinking about what was next for the Lakers. 

"I was focused on trying to see what the NBA is going to do about this season, and if we're going to come back or not," Davis said. "But it hasn't crossed my mind within this three month, four month break."

Before the hiatus, Davis was averaging 26.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots a game.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel said that Davis should win Defensive Player of the Year, adding he's a big reason why the Lakers are third in the league -- and best in the Western Conference -- in defensive efficiency. 

Vogel added that Davis, who says he's now 100 percent healthy, showed a lot of grit this season playing through a shoulder injury and then recovering quickly from a gluteus maximus contusion that was initially feared to be much worse. 

"He has been very resilient for us playing through injuries this year," Vogel said. "I think that’s been a big growth point for him. I think LeBron’s influence has weighed in there. But if he stays healthy, the sky’s the limit. You can dominate the game on the defensive end of the floor, at the perimeter, at the basket. Rebounding. And there’s nothing he can’t do offensively as well. So hopefully we continue to gel as a team and see him reach that potential."

Davis, who made two playoff appearances with New Orleans in 2015 and 2018, said he's looking forward to showing what he can do as he competes alongside James for a title.  

"I think everybody's level raises in the postseason and, for me, I just try to take it up a notch," he said.