Lakers’ LeBron James Disregards Giannis Antetokounmpo as DPOY to Praise Anthony Davis

Ever since the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis through trade, they have been on a roll. In the regular season, L.A. finished as the best in the Western Conference, with a record of 52-19.

In the playoffs, the Lakers have been steamrolling through their opponents and are just two wins away from the NBA trophy. With Game 4 of the NBA finals in the books, the Lakers have taken a 3-1 lead over the Heat.

The stunning performances by Anthony Davis and LeBron James were too much to handle for Miami. Although Davis was a little quiet on the offensive end, he was a defensive beast. AD finished the game with four blocks and one steal to seal the victory for the purple and gold.

AD’s partner in crime, LBJ, praised his All-Star teammate after an outstanding defensive showing. LA reporter Mike Trudell tweeted about James’ comments about the DPOY runner-up shortly after the Game 4 victory. The tweet said, “LeBron James on Anthony Davis tonight: ‘That’s why he’s the Defensive Player of the Year.’ Of course, AD was voted 2nd in DPOY voting (Giannis), but LeBron, Vogel, etc. felt he was the best player on that end.”

Along with Trudell, NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins ridiculed the voters for picking Giannis over AD as the 2019-20 DPOY. Perkins wrote, “I see no damn lies..Shame on the people that voted Giannis over AD.”

Both Giannis and Davis had fabulous regular-season campaigns. Giannis bagged both the MVP and DPOY awards over the Lakers duo of James and Davis. Many still believe that AD was robbed of the DPOY award, as he was clearly the better defender. However, as fate would have had it, Giannis is now watching the game from his couch while the Lakers have a chance to win it all.

How crucial is Anthony Davis for the Lakers?

Sharing the floor with the likes of LeBron James always comes with a lot of pressure. Not everyone can withstand the amount of limelight playing with LBJ brings. However, Anthony Davis has had no problem adjusting to playing with the Lakers.

In fact, this is the first time in AD’s career that he has made a deep playoff run. Moreover, he has been on fire the entire postseason as he is averaging 28.2 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game.

After a poor Game 3 performance, which resulted in a Lakers defeat, AD and the Lakers regrouped pretty well. Now the question arises: can they finish off Miami in five games?

The Lakers would like to wrap up the series as soon as possible to minimize any comeback hopes for the Heat. What do you think? Can the Lakers get the job done in the next game?