Darvin Ham, the new coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, says that star center Anthony Davis will be the centerpiece for the Lakers title hopes next season, in an interview with Marc Spears of Andscape.
“With AD, I would say he’s the biggest factor,” Ham said. “I’m looking forward to him having a huge year this year. I know the way we’re going to play is going to benefit him. The way I’m going to take care of him, make sure we take care of him, it’s going to benefit him.”
Ham added that the Lakers would make keeping their star player healthy a priority in the upcoming season.
“That size, that skill set, that approach,” Ham said. “What you saw in the bubble, we’re bringing that back. And again, we got to make sure we take care of him, meet all of his needs physically and make sure he’s in a good space mentally, spiritually, but he’s the factor. This s– ain’t going to work without AD being right.”
Davis started the 2021-2022 season strong. He averaged 24 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks through 25 games. But by December, Davis was sidelined for several weeks with injuries to his MCL and foot. Without Davis on the floor, the Lakers defense struggled tremendously, ranking 21st in the league in defensive rating.
“I think he’s the key. We’ve all seen what can happen when he’s healthy, when he’s playing at a high level,” Ham previously said. “His ability to give multiple efforts defensively is key. It’s gonna be the foundation of the type of standard we set. It’s going to be built on that defense, and he’s going to be the centerpiece of it. We need consistency out of a healthy Anthony Davis. We need him to be in a good mental space, and we need him to be as consistent as possible and back to playing that championship-type basketball.”