Over the last couple of seasons, Anthony Davis has been an absolute thorn in the side of the Golden State Warriors.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been unable to find an answer for the Los Angeles Lakers’ star big man as he continually dominates the paint on both ends of the court whenever the two teams meet.
But now with Davis being a part of the USA Men’s Olympic basketball team, coached by Kerr, the two are on the same side for once. And this is something that both Davis and Kerr are enjoying.
Davis spoke on Kerr following the team’s practice on Sunday with the former noting that the latter told him he was happy to finally be coaching the Lakers star instead of against him as is normally the case, via Arash Markazi of Sporting Tribune:
“We actually had multiple conversations throughout the summer about him finally being happy to be on the other side of coaching me and not coaching against me. He’s very motivational, he made sure we’re efficient in getting our work in, he’s very positive, but you can see that from the sideline. Everything that I would expect Steve to be as a coach is exactly him in camp.”
Davis would also go on to praise Kerr’s coaching style and how he empowers everyone from the assistant coaches down to the players:
“It goes from the assistant coaches; Spo, T-Lue, Mark Few, all the way down to the players. He doesn’t micromanage. He gives coaches their freedom when it’s their part of the practice. He listens to the players. So he’s really a players-first coach.”
There is a reason Kerr is already considered one of the greatest coaches of all-time and has been trusted to lead Team USA. This roster is obviously extremely talented with Davis being joined by his Lakers teammate LeBron James as well as the likes of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards, among others. But Kerr finding the right roles for everyone is no easy task.
Once the NBA season comes back around it will be back to normal as Davis will look to make Kerr’s life hell any time the Lakers and Warriors face off. But for now the two are enjoying being on the same side for Team USA.
Lakers’ Anthony Davis looking forward to having a real role with Team USA in second Olympics
This is the second trip to the Olympics for Anthony Davis with his first coming in 2012. That trip, however, came fresh out of college and before he had even played an NBA game. So this time around Davis is looking forward to actually having a role on Team USA.
He noted how his first Olympics in 2012, he was just enjoying the experience and cheering his teammates on. This time, however, he is a vet and looking forward to having a true role with Team USA and really helping to push this team to a gold medal.