CHICAGO -- Anthony Davis believes the best way the Los Angeles Lakers can honor Kobe Bryant is by competing as hard as they can and by dedicating themselves to the craft. The same line of thinking Bryant exhibited every night and was beloved for.

Davis, a native of Chicago, was selected as an All-Star starter. He is making his seventh-consecutive appearance and first since joining the Lakers. In 2017, Davis was named All-Star MVP with an All-Star game record 52 points.

“It’s going to mean a lot,” Davis said. “I only go [home to Chicago] once a season, so to go back there for a second time for All-Star and visit with my friends and family, it’ll be great.”

This season, Davis is averaging 26.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game.

Davis and LeBron James got tattoos to honor Kobe Bryant last week after he died in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people on Jan. 26.

"All my tats are something special," Davis said. "I don’t have any meaningless tats, so knowing how much Kobe meant to me, I felt like for me, the impact that he had on my life and my basketball career, I felt like it was only right for me to get a tattoo to remember him."

The 18-time All-Star and 11-time All-NBA first-teamer led the Lakers to five NBA championships and scored 33,643 points in his 20-year NBA career. He retired after the 2015-16 season, having spent his entire career with the Lakers. The franchise retired his No. 8 and No. 24 jersey numbers in Dec. 2017.