Anthony Davis has come a long way in his balling career. The Los Angeles Lakers center had the privilege of playing for the nation in 2012, before his rookie season in the NBA. Not only that, he played alongside the greats of games like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul. Fast forward to 12 years, and AD is all set to represent the nation again at the Paris Olympics. Before diving into the challenge, he responds to a big question: Which is better? 1992 Dream Team or the 2012 Team USA?
After going off the radar following the Lakers’ disappointing playoff run, AD came back on the air. Right around the time when the players are all set to assemble for the Paris Olympics practice. Anthony Davis, who showed up in the latest episode of the Join the Lobby podcast, got candid with his opinions. The hosts, reading the situation well, asked if he was part of the greatest USA team ever assembled in 2012.
When Anthony Davis got engaged, listing the superstars involved in the London Olympics, the hosts put him off guard with the tricky question. Davis, who paused for a bit, said, “I mean we won it all… it’s tough to say… the Dream team was insane, the Redeem team was insane.” Even pointed out the 2024 Paris Olympics and called it “crazy”.
USA Today via Reuters
The Lakers center’s half-hearted statement did nothing but rekindle the sealed-up debate of ‘World Champions’. As a follow-up question to the ‘best team’, the host opened the ‘World Champions’ debate. Last year, USA’s superstar sprinter Noah Lyles broke the internet with a thumping statement.
Lyles’ pointed out the terming NBA Champions as world champions “undeserving”. He further added, “World champion of what? The United States?” Unfortunately, around the same time, Team USA lost the FIBA WC and failed to even nab the Bronze medal.
Anthony Davis responds to ‘World Champions’ debate
When the host recalled Noah Lyles’ statement, Davis immediately said that he “understood” what the superstar track athlete meant. But AD countered it with his own version. He started off by saying that the NBA comprises the “best players” in the world, which automatically makes it world champions. He added, “The best players in the world you go to the NBA… to prove that you’re one of the best players in the world.”
Moreover, he didn’t stop there, Davis further went on to prove his version with an example. He added that if Nikola Jokić was the best player in the world, he wouldn’t just play in Serbia and call himself the “best”. Instead, Davis argued that the Serbian should go to the league and prove he is best by playing against the best in the world.
And, he ended his argument with a mic-drop-worthy statement, saying, “That’s why it’s called world champions… We don’t only have US-born players it can be from anywhere in the world.” Will AD’s statement reignite the debate once again just before the Paris Olympics? Let us know in the comments.