The LeBron James and Anthony Davis pairing has been every bit as good as advertised. They’ve steamrolled their way through the postseason so far, and after another dominant performance in Game 2 on Friday night, they find themselves just two wins away from an NBA title.
It would be a first for Davis and a fourth for LeBron, but a historic 17th championship for a Lakers franchise that has returned from a 10-year Finals absence with a bang and is looking to add yet another banner to its already-crowded rafters at Staples Center when all is said and done.
Of course, the LeBron-AD partnership has been drawing inevitable comparisons to another Lakers duo from the past, as they continue a long tradition that dates all the way back to Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, to Magic and Kareem, and culminates in arguably the most dominant one-two punch of them all in Shaq and Kobe.
Asked about those comparison on Friday night after Game 2, LeBron couldn’t help but feel flattered.
“To be in the conversation with those two guys… is very humbling.”@KingJames on the comparisons he and @AntDavis23 have gotten to the Shaq & Kobe duo. pic.twitter.com/Hx9DvJCwft
— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 3, 2020
LeBron, for his part, has been part of a few other fairly dominant and successful duos during his previous NBA stops, including ones featuring Kyrie Irving in Cleveland and Dwyane Wade in Miami, the latter of whom even had to admit on Friday that his buddy’s pairing with Davis might complement him even more than the one he won two championships with during the Heatles days.
Naturally, this whole exercise is unavoidable, even if a little premature given the sustained success Kobe and Shaq enjoyed during their time together. But for now, LeBron is clearly happy to take it for what it is and stay focused on the task at hand.