Yahoo Sports Anthony Davis reveals the one thing Kobe Bryant never told him
The Los Angeles Lakers are in for a very emotional 36 hours. If they win on Sunday and the Portland Trail Blazers lose, they'll secure the No. 6 seed and avoid the play-in tournament. But before that, on Saturday evening, Kobe Bryant is being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Bryant, who died in a January 2020 helicopter crash along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, was an iconic Laker, and the players have been asked about him leading up to the ceremony on Saturday. Anthony Davis has Kobe stories, but before the team's 122-115 win over the Indianapolis, he revealed the one thing he wished Kobe had said to him.
What Kobe never said to AD
Davis was traded to the Lakers before the 2019-20 season, long after Bryant had retired. But the two played together on the team that won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. Bryant was four years away from retirement while Davis hadn't even played his first NBA game yet. He'd been chosen for the team after several starters went down with injuries.
When a reporter asked Davis if Kobe had ever said that he wanted them to play on the Lakers together, he recalled their time at the Olympics, which had made an impression on Bryant. Over the years he'd been able see how much Davis had improved. But that magical phrase never crossed Bryant's lips.
"I know he always talked about [how] he loved playing with me and against me in the Olympics and seeing how much I've grown as a player," Davis told reporters via Bleacher Report. "He could only imagine what it would be like now. But [he] never actually came out and said, 'I would like for you to be on the Lakers with me.' Which would have been a dream, to be honest."
Davis never got to hear Kobe tell him that one special thing. But from what he told Davis, it's clear that he thought the world of Davis' talent. They may never have gotten the chance to play together in the NBA, but Davis can continue to honor Kobe's memory as he and the Lakers attempt to defend their title.
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