Lakers' Anthony Davis reveals planned 40th birthday gift for LeBron James
12/29/2024 02:54 PM
On Saturday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers picked up an impressive home win over the Sacramento Kings despite playing without LeBron James. James missed the contest due to an illness, but Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves both stepped up big time in his absence.
James is just one day away from turning 40 years old, and after the game, Davis was asked what he’s planning to get the kid from Akron for the big day.
“He is turning 40, huh?” reflected Davis, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter. “It is a big milestone. I’ll probably get him a bottle of vino or something… thank you for reminding me. I’m a bad friend.”
LeBron James has indeed made no secret of his affinity for wine over the years.
Are the Lakers finding another gear?
Since his return from a two-game absence away from the team, LeBron James has looked as healthy as he has appeared in years, combining his otherworldly basketball IQ with a much more springy athleticism than we had seen to open up the season.
Despite playing without James on Saturday evening, the Lakers were able to harness that energy in their win against the nosediving Kings, and on Sunday, Rob Pelinka and company made it clear that they’re not settling with the roster they have in the locker room now.
That morning, the Lakers traded D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, as originally reported by Shams Charania of ESPN.
The move gives the Lakers a versatile three-and-D wing in Finney-Smith who is shooting well over 40 percent from beyond the three-point line this year, and it also allows them not to have to worry about which version of Russell will show up in big games.
The Lakers were also able to hold onto all of their first round picks in the process (at least, the ones they hadn’t already traded away), meaning the team could still theoretically make some more moves to try to cash in their assets and maximize the roster around James and Davis.
It’s unprecedented in NBA history for a team to be actively exploring ways to build a title contender around a 40 year-old, but historical precedence hasn’t been much of a concern for James throughout his future Hall of Fame career.
Los Angeles will next take the floor on Tuesday evening at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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