Anthony Davis Names Best Team Lakers Have Faced This Season

Your Los Angeles Lakers have squared off against nearly every single championship contender this season – in some cases, multiple times, with the exception of the Milwaukee Bucks. As such, Anthony Davis is qualified to answer who the best team LA has played all season is.

While the Celtics, Clippers, and Thunder are all widely considered more serious threats come playoff time, Davis identified the Minnesota Timberwolves as the best team LA has played all season.

“Probably Minnesota.”

Anthony Davis when he was asked who the best team the Lakers have played all year is. @FanDuel pic.twitter.com/tCfHWzsENa
— 𝙉𝘼𝙅 (@najeeadams_) February 17, 2024

Thus far, the Lakers are 0-2 against the 1-seeded Wolves, who currently possess a 39-16 record, 1.5 games ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In LA's two losses, one was by 7 points without LeBron James, while the other was a 2-point loss that featured the infamous "2-point shot" by James, where his foot was ostensibly behind the line.

That said, despite LA playing them close, Davis has had a particularly tough time against Minnesota due to their elite interior defense, led by Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Rudy Gobert.

The three-time DPOY is yet again the anchor of a top defense in the league, working around the team's interesting construction of two big men, as fellow 7-footer Karl-Anthony Towns starts at power forward alongside Gobert.

Their physical, lengthy, stalwart defense has been an issue for countless teams, especially opposing big men as they commonly scheme up unique coverages featuring both Towns and Gobert to slow down the league's top big men.

For example, they'll run layered coverages with Gobert behind Towns, which, given their size, is a nightmare to work around. As it pertains to rebounding, it gets no easier, as Towns and Gobert combine to average 21 rebounds per game, the highest amount between two starting players in the league.

The Wolves are a nightmare matchup for countless teams in the league, and given their seeding relative to the Lakers', there's a very real chance they square off in the first round of the playoffs, opening the door to a cinematic series in which many will project an upset.