Anthony Davis Yells 'Kobe' After Making Greatest Shot Of His Career
With 2.1 seconds left and the Lakers trailing, 103-102, Rajon Rondo inbounded the ball to Anthony Davis.
The 6-feet 10 power forward didn't hesitate.
While wearing a Black Mamba jersey, Davis stepped behind the 3-point line and fired off a shot as time expired that swished through the net, giving the Lakers a 105-103 win in Game 2 of their Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets.
After making the biggest shot of his career, Davis had one thought on his mind before he was mobbed by his teammates.
He yelled the word, "Kobe."
"To do something like that, and with the jersey we wore tonight, it just makes it even more special," Davis said.
The Lakers are 3-0 in the playoffs in their Black Mamba jerseys.
Davis said that's not a coincidence.
"We just feel like we play a little different," Davis said. "Our swag is a little different. Every time we put on those jerseys, obviously, we're representing him. But especially in those jerseys. It was his jersey. The one that he created. Anytime we put it on we feel like we want to win."
Davis said while the Lakers were in a late-game huddle, coach Frank Vogel made sure to remind the team of the black snakeskin pattern they were wearing on their bodies in honor of Bryant, a five-time NBA champion who died in a helicopter crash Jan. 26.
"He said, 'Look at the jerseys you have on,'" Davis recalled. "He would have made big-time plays. So it's time for us to make big-time plays."
His words paid off.
The Lakers have tried to embody Bryant for the last eight months. And on Sunday, Davis accomplished that goal.
"That's a shot Kobe Bryant would hit," Vogel said. "To me, AD just flying through the wing like that, catch and shoot with the game on the line in the biggest moment of our season, nothing but net, that's a Mamba shot."
Davis, who had only nine points in the first half, finished with a game-high 31 points on 11-for-23 shooting, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
In his first Western Conference Finals appearance over his eight-season career, he's averaged 34 points on 52.3 percent shooting from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the 3-point line.
Davis said throughout the playoffs, he's leaned on LeBron James, a three-time NBA champion.
But James said that feeling is reciprocal.
"This is the furthest he's gone in his career up to this point and I'm just happy to be here with him to give him any advice and lean on me," James said. "To be completely honest, in the second half, I leaned on him."
James had 20 points in the first half to help the Lakers lead by as much as 16 points. But in the second half, he scored only six points on two-for-nine shooting.
The Nuggets clawed their way back in the fourth quarter, using a 9-0 run to take a 100-99 lead with just over one minute remaining.
Davis kept the Lakers in the game by scoring 10 points in the final 12 minutes, capped off by a career-defining moment.
As soon as the ball swished through the net as the buzzer sounded, the whole team ran up to Davis. The celebration was so wild that rookie Talen Horton-Tucker was knocked onto his back amid all the flying bodies.
Davis called it "the biggest shot of my career" and a "huge dream."
"I've never hit a game-winner like that before, so to hit like that and [for it] to be a 3, it's a special moment for me," Davis said. "Something I'll let soak in for the next couple hours and then tomorrow try to get ready and prep for Game 3."
James said he was incredibly happy for Davis.
But he added that if it were up to him, one thing would've been different.
"I wish we were playing at Staples," James said. "We miss our fans so much and I can only imagine. I probably would have blew the roof off Staples Center, AD hitting that shot tonight in Staples, with our crowd. I would have loved for him to have that moment."
Even without 19,000 fans, it was still incredibly meaningful for Davis.
Especially because it made him feel closer to Bryant.
"Kobe is with us and we kind of have the spirit in those jerseys," Davis said.
