Where would the Lakers be without Anthony Davis? No matter the performances from LeBron James, one thing is clear about the Gold and Purple side — It’s Anthony Davis’ team. And that’s something everyone from HC JJ Redick to the last player in the rotation acknowledges, including LeBron James.

Sharing a snap from last night’s game featuring him with Davis on his Instagram story, LeBron wrote “My fkn DOG!!! Woe” followed by an up and salute emoji. AD’s return on the hardwood immediately boosted the team with 31 points and a victory against the Philadelphia 76ers. So, the 4-time champion didn’t hesitate to acknowledge Davis’ importance to his 159 million fans.

In the 8 games AD has played so far this season, he has six 30+ point games with 11.4 RPG thanks to his four double-figure rebounds haul. As the hub of the Lakers play, Davis is also averaging 2.8 assists which makes his MVP claim that much stronger. According to the latest MVP ladder, Anthony Davis sits atop ahead of Jayson Tatum and Nikola Jokic. JJ Redick wants Davis to go get the MVP award and has already made it clear to the big man.

Davis’ 259 points makes him the 4th Laker in history with most points after 8 games. He credited this success to Redick and in the post-game interview said, “It’s some of the schemes that Jay (Redick) put in just making me the hub of the offense, playing through me. And then I just gotta make the reads out of that. So I feel very comfortable right now, very confident, and I’m just just trying to keep it going.” But LeBron James wasn’t only appreciative of AD. After the win over the 76ers, the 39-year-old mentioned the important pieces behind the Lakers success.

LeBron James credits teammates for latest success

Just when things started going south for the Lakers after their 1-4 road trip, a game at the Crypto.com Arena turned the table. After a 116-106 win over the struggling Philly side, LeBron took the opportunity to praise his guys. After highlighting the importance of the tweaks with D’Angelo Russell, the 39-year-old said, “I mean he’s (Cam Reddish) really good with his hands…Cam makes up for that we lack a little. Vando out still, Cam kind of makes up for it until Vando comes back and then we get a lot of left with that but until now I think Cam just makes up makes up for a lot that we were missing so, it’s key for our ball club.”

LeBron himself stepped up big time with his triple double of 21-12-13. For an athlete who will be 40 in a couple of months, the performances LeBron is delivering is right up there solidifying his stance in the GOAT debate. On Sunday night, the Lakers will welcome the Raptors and the fans can only hope that the LeBron-AD duo can power them through to another win.