Anthony Davis Gets Honest About Jaren Jackson Jr. Matchup

It's very clear that the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers don't like each other. Despite that, Anthony Davis claims that he doesn't play any differently when he faces off against Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Grizzlies.

Despite being one of the best defenders in the NBA, Anthony Davis has never won Defensive Player of the Year. Last season, Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies won the honor. The two teams have bad blood, but Davis claims that he doesn't have any extra defensive motivation when facing off against the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Lakers’ Anthony Davis on his defense on Jaren Jackson Jr. & that his DPOY award didn’t serve as extra motivation pic.twitter.com/lJ1lNYp917
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) November 15, 2023

"I'm gonna play the same way," Anthony Davis said. "It wasn't a thing of 'oh he got it last year' and me trying to show him up or anything like that. I just go out and compete, protect the rim, tell my guys to compete on the ball and funnel all the guys towards me and I'll take care of the rest. I just go out there and play as hard as I can on both ends of the floor, but especially on the defensive I'm end, knowing that I'm the anchor and got to protect all the guys."

If there's one thing that modern NBA players like to do, it's downplay any potential extra motivation in front of the media. Time after time, players have candidly admitted their disdain for other teams privately, but never admit it publicly. While Anthony Davis can say he doesn't have extra motivation against Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Memphis Grizzlies, it's very clear that it's untrue for both sides.

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