Anthony Davis has rejected criticism of his reserved reaction to LeBron James’ record-breaking shot that crowned the 38-year-old as the number one all-time scorer. Instead, he was “pissed” that the Lakers were about to lose the game.
“It’s all about the game. I was pissed that we were losing. It’s as simple as that,” Davis stated after another loss against the Milwaukee Bucks, a few days after James broke the scoring record. For the Lakers, it was already their third loss in a row and fifth out of the past seven games, with a record of 25-31, L.A. is only ranked 13th in the Western Conference. LeBron’s record was also spoiled by a 130-133 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
When James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous scoring record with a fadeaway jumper in the third quarter, Davis was only sitting on the bench. All of his other teammates around him stood up, watched the scene excitedly and celebrated LeBron’s milestone. Davis, on the other hand, barely showed any expression as he watched the scene on the video cube. Videos of the scene spread rapidly on the internet and brought a lot of criticism to AD for his seemingly disinterested behavior.
“We’re losing against Oklahoma City – a game that we desperately needed,” the 29-year-old explained further. “It has nothing to do with LeBron and he knows it. Everyone else is just looking at the situation from the outside, that’s just their opinion. I was just pissed that we were losing the game.”
Just before, he had let his frustration loose in the locker room and had only just returned to the bench before LeBron’s jumper. That’s why he didn’t even realize that James was about to break the scoring record. However, he felt bad about how his body language was interpreted afterwards. He apologized to James over the phone and in person, Davis explained.
James himself probably didn’t see the scene as problematic and expressed understanding. During the game, the broadcasting TV channel TNT aired a recorded conversation between LeBron and Davis in which James emphasized, “I just want you to know that I love you. That’s it.”
