Lakers Teammates 'Begging' Anthony Davis to Continue Expanding His Game

Valentina Martinez | Nov 18, 2024

Nov 16, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) reacts to making a three point basket against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves remained persistent in asking Anthony Davis to shoot three-pointers, something that has become a novelty for the star forward in recent years.

“He’s been shooting good though. I’ve been begging him to shoot it for three years now so thank god he finally listened," Reaves said. "And it wasn’t even me, he doesn’t listen to me. It just makes the floor spacing extra. You can get to the rim kind of whenever and big men’s tendencies when guards or whoever is driving is to go contest shots so when he’s shooting it like that, they kind of have to second-guess themselves. If they do go, you got a wide-open 3, if they don’t go then you can create in the paint. So it’s big for our team.”

After the Lakers won the championship in 2020, Davis struggled to find his shot beyond the arc. Once his struggles at the three-point line surfaced, the Lakers star pivoted his focus to becoming a dominant presence in the paint.

But one aspect of Davis' game that made him special was his ability to make threes. This season, Davis has emerged as a confident three-point shooter, which could be attributed to new head coach JJ Redick.

Redick has made multiple changes in his first year with the Los Angeles organization. As a former NBA sharpshooter, Redick could have encouraged Davis to once again be a big man who can shoot threes.

Davis has opened the season with a strong MVP caliber start. While Reaves has encouraged his teammate to shoot more threes, Davis has also encouraged another Lakers player to step up.

While Davis led the Lakers in scoring against the New Orleans Pelicans with 31 points, the star revealed he "gets frustrated and upset" when rookie Dalton Knecht doesn't shoot.

"Every time he shoots the ball, we think it's gonna go in," Davis said on Saturday. "That's why we get so frustrated and upset when he doesn't shoot. He's a great player."

The accountability of each player on the Lakers has been infectious this season. The Lakers currently have a record of 9-4 and have risen to fourth in the Western Conference.

Only the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Rockets have a better record than the Lakers.

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