As LeBron James nears the end of his career, there is an ongoing discussion on whether he and Anthony Davis remain a top duo in the NBA. Time and time again, both stars have had their moments for the Los Angeles Lakers, particularly in high-stakes games.
Despite more young talent entering the league, James and Davis continue to show they are still among the best players. However, it feels like L.A. is in limbo due to the lack of offseason moves with many questioning if they still believe in this tandem.
After three dominant performances to begin the year, Davis set the tone for the season in addition to James chipping in where he can.
With that, TNT’s ‘Inside The NBA’ featuring Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith ranked James No. 5 and Davis No. 12, respectively, in their top-20 current NBA players list, via Bleacher Report:
🚨 INSIDE’S TOP 20 CURRENT NBA PLAYERS
Chuck, Shaq and Kenny’s combined 1-20
1. Nikola Jokić
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo
3. Luka Dončić
4. Joel Embiid
5. LeBron James
6. Stephen Curry
7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
8. Kevin Durant
9. Jaylen Brown
10. Jayson Tatum
11.… pic.twitter.com/M0L1Y8shIX— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 21, 2024
What is remarkable is that a 39-year-old aging star is still in the upper echelon of talent in the league. Many are expecting him to drop in his offensive production, but that has yet to happen.
Meanwhile, one of the most scrutinized stars in Davis is starting to see the tide turn in terms of public opinion. After playing a career-high 76 games last season, his dominant two-way play is something that seems to no longer be going unnoticed.
It is great to see the Lakers stars in the upper half of the top players in the league. With a new head coach in town with JJ Redick, hopefully, he can recapture that faith for the front office to continue to go all in with the hopes of cashing in on another championship.
Unfortunately, during LeBron James’ tenure as a Laker, whenever he does something historic, the team has lost. That trend got put to the test on Opening Night when James shared the floor with his son Bronny, being the first father and son duo in NBA history.
Thankfully, L.A. conquered those demons and came through by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves. Anthony Davis was happy to witness another historic moment next to his co-star, but also that they finally got a win to accompany it.
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