Anthony Davis expects to walk into a hostile atmosphere when he returns to his former home in New Orleans on Wednesday night when the surging Los Angeles Lakers visit the Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center.

After a bitter break-up, the six-time All-Star braces for nothing but jeers from an infuriated home crowd. “I know the fans are gonna boo me,“ he said when he spoke to Shams Canaria of the Athletic.

The 2012 top draft pick stained his more than six-year stint with the Pelicans when he forced the team’s management to send him somewhere else via trade last year. It was initially delayed before the 26-year-old Davis got his request granted in the offseason when he was sent to the Lakers in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball.

Still, the former Kentucky Wildcat looks forward to meeting his old squad and personally expects the faceoff to be the “game of the year”.

The statement from Davis was brought more about by the storyline of his return, rather than a teaser of a revenge game. Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports said, “Davis isn’t vindictive when he says that. He implies that his return to New Orleans is a game of the year due to the spectacle surrounding the event.”

Davis and the Lakers are still the NBA’s best at 15-2 while the Pelicans are at the bottom half of the Western Conference with 6-11.

For the Pelicans part, Davis expects the “three sacrificial lambs” to make a statement when they, too, face their former club.

“It’s going to be me (against the) Pelicans, and then the three guys (Ball, Ingram, and Hart), if they play, against the Lakers. So it’s going to be a great battle. Those guys are going to try to take our heads off just to prove a point,” Anthony Davis told Bill Oram of The Athletic.

Ingram, though, sounded more professional when he said, “No bad blood. Nothing but respect for the Lakers organization.”

Anthony Davis Lakers
Anthony Davis celebrates after scoring a basket in his Lakers debut. Silver Screen and Roll
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