LeBron James: 'Very Important' for Anthony Davis to Be Lakers' 'Main Focal Point'

Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis turned in another dominant performance Friday night in a 123-116 win over the Phoenix Suns, and teammate LeBron James made it clear after the game that they need to continue feeding the nine-time All-Star.

According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, James stressed the importance of feeding AD the ball as often as possible, saying: "It's very important that he's the main focal point for us every single night. We know what he's going to do defensively, but offensively we have to find him in multiple places on the floor throughout the whole game. And we've done that through two games."

Davis finished Friday's contest with 35 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks, which was a strong follow-up to the 36 points, 16 boards, four assists and three blocks he had in a season-opening win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

While injuries have been an issue for much of AD's career, he has often been dominant when healthy, averaging 24.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals in 738 games between the New Orleans Pelicans and Lakers.

James was named NBA Finals MVP in 2020 when the Lakers won their most recent championship, but they almost certainly wouldn't have won it without Davis, who averaged 27.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per contest during the playoffs that season.

Over the next three campaigns, injuries limited Davis to 56 or fewer games each year, and he earned only one All-Star selection during that timeframe.

However, AD bounced back in a big way last season, playing a career-high 76 games and averaging 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.2 steals en route to his ninth career All-Star selection.

Despite whispers about the Lakers trying to add a third star during the offseason to play alongside Davis and James, nothing materialized, and the Lakers largely returned the same roster that got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season.

The Lakers look like a different team thus far under new head coach J.J. Redick, though, as they have started off the 2024-25 campaign with wins over two Western Conference playoff teams from last season.

Perhaps the most impressive aspects of those wins is the fact that LeBron has only had to put up relatively modest numbers thanks to AD's excellence.

After registering 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in the opener, James followed it up with 21 points, eight assists and four rebounds against Phoenix.

When Davis is healthy and at his best, few teams have a player who can match up with his size and offensive ability, and that has been on full display so far this season.

Should that continue, it will make life far easier for James, D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and every other key player on the Lakers' roster.

Davis will look to make it three consecutive games with 35 or more points to open the season Saturday night when the Lakers host the Sacramento Kings.