Anthony Davis returns to Los Angeles and faces the Lakers on Saturday, November 29th., With the NBA Cup.
Davis was traded with the Dallas Mavericks midway through the 2024-25 season in exchange for Luka Donsic.
The blockbuster trade is undoubtedly the most amazing trade in NBA history, and it will be very interesting to see how it pans out.
Neither team has succeeded right after the deal, but they both have high expectations and a month later NBA Cup meeting heading into a new season in October.
And there may be something more important than the results on the line when Davis returned to Los Angeles.
ESPN reporter Mark Spears believes Davis’ legacy is the biggest talk ahead of the Lakers’ NBA Cup game against the Mavericks.
He suggested that Davis could even celebrate his jersey retirement in Los Angeles after playing very well for more than five seasons.
The only problem is that Lakers fans, as impressive as him, were often frustrated that he didn’t take the reins from LeBron James.
“I’m curious to see how Lakers fans feel about him and his legacy in the Lakers uniform,” Spears said. “He averaged 25 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks per game in his five and a half seasons career.
“Is he worth it because he’s in the Hall of Fame where he puts jerseys on the sink? Jamal Wilkes is there. He played several more seasons, eight.
“Anthony Davis won the championship and the NBA Cup. I don’t know if Lakers fans care about it. Was he enough to get a jersey with the rafters?”
The Los Angeles Lakers are the most successful team in modern NBA history, with a more legendary former player than most.
Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are four of the 12 former players who will retire from the jerseys.
| player | Retired Jersey Number | La Lakers’ career span | La Lakers NBA title |
| Kobe Bryant | #8, #24 | 1996–2016 (20th season) | 5 (2000–02, 2009, 2010) |
| Wilt Chamberlain | #13 | 1968-1973 (5 seasons) | 1 (1972) |
| Elgin Baylor | #twenty two | 1958-1971 (13 season) | 0 |
| Gale Goodrich | #twenty five | 1965-68, 1970-76 (12 seasons) | 1 (1972) |
| Magic Johnson | #32 | 1979-1991, 1995-96 (13 seasons) | 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) |
| Dogem Abdul-Jabbar | #33 | 1975-1989 (14 seasons) | 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) |
| Shaquille O’Neill | #34 | 1996–2004 (8 seasons) | 3 Lakers (2000–02), |
| Deserves James | #42 | 1982–1994 (12 seasons) | 3 (1985, 1987, 1988) |
| Jerry West | #44 | 1960-1974 (14 seasons) | 1 (1972) |
| Jamal Wilkes | #52 | 1977-1985 (8 seasons) | 3 (1980, 1982, 1985) |
| George Mika | #99 | 1947-1954 (7 seasons) | 5 (1949, 1950, 1952–1954) |
| Michael Cooper | #twenty one | 1978-1990 (12 seasons) | 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) |
LeBron will almost certainly be on the exclusive list when he eventually leaves LA. He would have spent nearly a decade with the team and led him to the NBA Championship in 2020.
The case of Anthony Davis is less clear. He spent less than six seasons with the Lakers and missed many games with injuries.