NBA: Lakers Forward Plots 2020 Title Route, LeBron Given Responsibility

Anthony Davis was the de-facto star of the New Orleans Pelicans for a number of years but this year he joined the Los Angeles Lakers, who have on their roster LeBron James, arguably one of the greatest ever to play the game. The power forward will have to share the spotlight with the three-time NBA champion and revealed that he is ready to take on more responsibility to help the team win.

The Lakers were desperate to land Davis this summer and gave up a number of assets as part of the trade package and James, who is a proven winner is going the extra mile to ensure the team performs at a level higher than they have in recent years. He has asked the team to make Davis the focal point and is holding a special pre-training camp workout in Las Vegas to ensure they are all on the same page.

The former Pelicans forward has now revealed a plan of his own to chart a path to the 2020 NBA championship. Davis has made his goals for the upcoming campaign clear while also revealing he has some major responsibilities for James.

“I want to be Defensive Player of the Year,” Davis told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes. “I think if I’m able to do that, I can help this team win. The offensive end will come around, but defensively, I want to hold myself, teammates, including LeBron, accountable in order for us to take on the challenge of being the best we can defensively.”

“In doing so, we’ll have a good chance of winning every night. I want to make sure me and LeBron are on the All-Defensive Team. And for me personally, I just want to be the Defensive Player of the Year. If we’re able to hold teams under 100 [points], which is probably unrealistic but it should be our goal, I think we’ll have a shot at winning the title.”

The Lakers have not made the playoffs for a franchise record six consecutive seasons and it was expected to change following the arrival of James last summer. However, his debut season in the purple and gold was hampered by a groin injury, which saw him miss 17 games and the Lakers eventually ended the campaign in 10^th place in the Western Conference.

Frank Vogel has arrived as the new head coach with NBA legend Jason Kidd as his top assistant and the first priority is to make the post-season but Davis and James are clearly looking much further ahead in their first season together in Los Angeles. The Lakers are second favorites behind the Los Angeles Clippers to win the 2020 NBA championship.