Back in July 2010, 15-year-old Anthony Davis was invited to LeBron James Skills Academy days before LeBron made “The decision.” Fresh out of Chicago Perspectives Charter school, 6-foot-10 Davis was also awaiting his own decision at that moment- the decision to choose between Kentucky, Ohio State, or Syracuse as his future destination. Davis can recall, being someone who was trying to make his mark in the basketball landscape, attending LeBron James’ camp was huge.

“I remember catching a Greyhound bus from Chicago all the way to Ohio to his camp, by myself,” Davis told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols. “Fifteen years old and getting to his camp and I remember being like, ‘That’s LeBron James.’” While the camp was up and running, on July 8, 2010, LeBron made his now-infamous decision to leave Cleveland and take his talents to South Beach where he would join his buddies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. One month after this, Davis joined Kentucky where he would eventually win the 2012 NCAA title. However, it was the camp where it all started.

“Meeting him for the first time was like a dream come true,” Davis had told in 2020. But the two got closer once Davis entered the NBA, and it was through Bron’s best friend Chris Paul. “Once I got in the league, I already knew (Chris) Paul in high school. So obviously, him and Bron were really close and I kinda knew Bron throughout the years, maybe my second year we got really close,” Davis had added. That reached a full circle when Davis joined the Lakers in 2019, and since then the two have been kind of inseparable. And it has been time-tested.

In the 2023-24 season, there was a lot of talk about Davis’ body language when James became the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. He seemed distant from the celebration and came off as selfish in videos that went viral online. The 2020 champion said he was more focused on the crucial game against the Thunder, in which they were down and ended up losing. Jealous? No way, LeBron could testify that. “There’s no jealousy. There’s not a jealous bone in our bodies. We’re never jealous of one another. Ever,” he had said to Dave McMenamin of ESPN in 2023. So how did it feel when that buddy of more than a decade and teammate of five seasons suddenly gets traded midseason?

According to insiders, LeBron knew nothing about the trade beforehand and was shocked. It must have hit harder when Davis came back to the Crypto Arena, as a part of the rival squad. Not only LeBron, it must have awkward for the rest of the squad. But looks like the Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick had some pep talk ready for his squad to handle the situation.

JJ Redick participated in a presser after the Lakers’ 107-99 win against the Mavs. During the Q&A session, he was asked about his feelings over the game, and what it meant to get it “out of the way”. “Yeah, I think there’s you know it’s not just for Luka. We talked about it before the game with the group. It, you know, it’s Max, and it’s AD, and we kind of just got to embrace it,” Redick said.

“It’s just a little weird. It’s just naturally is. I’ve never in my life of playing basketball went to another team and then played them the first time and been like ‘oh this is just another team’. No, it isn’t. Um, so it’s healthy, actually, just to acknowledge it, and embrace it, and then, you play the game, and then you never have to do that again.”

Redick may not have coached in the NBA before this season, but he did play in the league for 15 seasons. In that time period, he played for 6 different teams and saw many of his teammates being sent off to other teams. Therefore, he was more than acquainted with the ‘awkwardness’ that came with playing against a former team/teammate. If that vast experience taught Redick anything, it was to ‘go through it, and move on’. It was a belief he passed on to his players, too.

Anthony Davis was sidelined indefinitely after he sustained an adductor injury during his Dallas Mavericks debut. Therefore, the Lakers were spared the ‘weirdness’ of competing against him. At least for now. However, while JJ Redick did his part to acknowledge the situation as it is, so did the LA squad. During the first quarter of the game, the Lakers honored Davis with a tear-jerking two-minute tribute video.

It highlighted Davis’s five and a half seasons with the men in gold and blue, emphasizing on-court highlights and fun off-court moments. Davis’s efforts during the Lakers 2020 NBA title run were also featured. The crowd at the Crypto.com Arena also gave a warm ovation after the video. Anthony Davis acknowledged the gesture by waving to the attendees.

Before the game, Redick expressed his sorrow by saying, “I’ll start with the fact that I miss just being around him every day. He’s a fantastic human being and a wonderful teammate”. Therefore, it was a good thing that he had a team meeting before the game. Not just to reassure the others, but himself as well. The meeting’s effects were seen during the game.

Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt light-heartedly went at it with each other at one point. LeBron James was seen clapping after Davis’s video tribute. In fact, like true BFF, they were seen having a conversation while both had their mouths covered. LeBron with his jersey and AD with his hands! However, knowing the love the duo shared, LeBron James would have done fine even without the meeting. He indicated that during his post-game presser.

LeBron James gave his tribute to his “best friend”

During the post-game, even LeBron James was asked about what the Lakers-Mavs matchup meant to him. After all, he was aligned with Anthony Davis longer than JJ Redick. Both LeBron and Davis had formed a partnership over the last 6 years that could be compared to the likes of Kobe-Shaq, Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen, etc. After having played 249 games together, their partnership ended abruptly. Despite this, LeBron made it clear that their bond existed for life.

“We know what AD was for this franchise. What he did for the franchise from the moment we got him. To hold a Larry O’Brien trophy, to All-Star nods, winning the first inaugural In-Season Tournament, and many dominant nights not only in this building but on the road as well” said the 40-year-old. “Obviously, our friendship goes without saying. He’s one of my best friends. It was great to see him get that recognition in that moment.”

Indeed Davis will go down in Lakers history as a legend. In the purple and gold, he averaged 24.8 PPG, 11 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.2 blocks while shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 28 percent from three in 213 games and 34.4 minutes of play. As a Lakers fan, would you classify the recent game as ‘weird’? Or something that provided a brief tinge of nostalgia to be remembered briefly and then move on? Let us know in the comments.