Lakers News: Former All-Star Breaks Down Why Anthony Davis Will Never Be Top Dog In LA

Coming into the new NBA season, this was supposed to be the year that Lakers star forward Anthony Davis took over the reins from co-star LeBron James as the face of the team. While we had been hearing that for years now, it seemed like the perfect chance after James spoke about retirement at the end of last season.

But through the first few games, it seems that James is still king on the Lakers. Davis has played well to his credit, but James is just on a level of his own.

However, the Lakers will need Davis to continue stepping up as the year goes on if they want any chance to do damage this season. But one former player doesn’t believe that Davis will ever be able to take the reins fully from James.

Former point guard Gilbert Arenas believes that Davis has too much respect for James to take the keys from him. He spoke about this on his show Gil’s Arena.

“He admires him too much,” Arenas said. “… But think about it. When you have two stars on a team, no one is handing over the keys, just one is taking ’em. When did Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) hand over the keys to Kobe (Bryant)? Never.”

Per Gilbert Arenas via Gil's Arena

James has been playing major minutes already this season, despite the team wanting to limit him. This isn't a sustainable way for this team to survive over the course of the season, so something needs to give.

The Lakers have also been much more effective when James is on the floor, something that has been consistent throughout his career. So, for now, James remains the one with the keys to the franchise.

Davis needs to step up and take the reigns, even if James is still the leader of the team. He has too big of a presence to relinquish that, but the success of LA is on Davis the rest of the way.

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