It was one of the biggest nights in the legendary career of LeBron James, but his breaking of the NBA’s all-time scoring record came in a disappointing loss for the LA Lakers – and superstar teammate Anthony Davis had a very bizarre reaction.
Davis was well below his best – and looked almost completely disinterested – throughout their clash with the Thunder as James racked up points on his way to overtaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record 38,337 points.
And when James reached the mark in the final seconds of the third quarter, Davis chose to remain seated on the bench and not clap – despite almost the entirety of the Crypto.com Arena standing to cheer one of the all-time greats breaking a 39-year record widely viewed as unbreakable.
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ESPN’s Jalen Rose slammed Davis’ reaction, labelling his reaction “petty” and “jealous” – and threatening the relationship with James.
“There’s no way on God’s green earth that you can be sitting down when the greatest record in the history of basketball is being broken,” Rose said.
“It comes off as petty, it comes as you’re hating, it comes off as that you’re jealous of the moment and when things like that happen, overarching, you feel like, can they continue to play together?”
James and Davis won the 2020 title with the Lakers after pairing up a season earlier, but the latter’s response to the milestone moment had fans and pundits wondering if things could be coming to an end in Los Angeles.
Guardian reporter Claire de Lune wrote: “i can’t help but wonder if ad knows something we don’t know about lebron’s plans for the off-season.”
An emotional James told Davis on the bench in the fourth quarter: “I love you bro. That’s all, I want you to know.
Davis finished with 13 points and eight boards, well off his average this season of 26.7 points and 11.9 rebounds.
Asked if it was an emotional moment for the team, Davis said after the game: “I don’t think it was emotional for us”.
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But he was able to shake off his disinterest to offer his teammate some praise.
Asked about LeBron, and his experience of playing together, Davis said: “It’s been great.
“He’s played a big part in the team’s success, a big part in my success. A leader in all kinds of ways in all kinds of ways, all kind of facets on and off the floor.
“He’s a great human being, family guy, check all the boxes. Definitely well deserved.
“He’s put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this game and it was an honour to be able to witness it live.”