LeBron James

LeBron James expects Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis to bounce back in a big way in 2022-23.

"My expectations for AD to be AD," James told reporters Monday. "To be the dynamic player he can be... I believe he is going to have a helluva season."

Injuries have limited Davis to only 76 games over the past two seasons combined. He missed 42 games in 2021-22 mostly due to knee and foot injuries, causing him to miss out on an All-Star selection for the first time since his rookie year.

With LeBron also missing significant time because of injuries last season, the Lakers scuffled their way to a 33-49 record and missed the playoffs.

The struggles have led to a lot of criticism from fans, especially directed at Davis.

The star big man said last April that he had "two uncontrollable injuries" that kept him off the court, per Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.

"These aren't little ticky-tack injuries," he added in response to those who thought he should play.

Davis is now back to full strength heading into 2022-23, and there are clearly high expectations.

Even with his limitations last year, Davis impressed on the court with averages of 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. The eight-time All-Star is one of the league's best two-way players when healthy, having averaged at least 20 points and two blocks per game in eight of the last nine years.

When the Lakers won the NBA title in 2019-20, Davis tied for third in the league with 11.1 win shares during the regular season, per Basketball Reference.

LeBron seems to believe Davis will return to that level once again this season.

After a disappointing first year with the Los Angeles Lakers, star point guard Russell Westbrook is excited about the team's potential for this upcoming season.

Westbrook recently told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that he has high expectations for how good the combination of him, LeBron James and Anthony Davis can be.

"There's so much optimism on how we can be great, how AD, LeBron, myself—can be unstoppable in my opinion," he said.

The Lakers' star trio failed to live up to expectations in their first year together. James and Davis both were in and out of the lineup as multiple injuries caused both of them to miss significant portions of the season. Los Angeles went 33-49 and failed to make the playoffs.

Westbrook received criticism for seemingly being unwilling to adjust his style of play. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists, but he lacked efficiency. Throughout the offseason, there had been some speculation that the Lakers would seek to trade the 33-year-old.

But it looks like the two sides will forge ahead together. First-year head coach Darvin Ham expressed his excitement to have Westbrook on the roster when the team hired him to replace Frank Vogel.

Westbrook also told Wojnarowski he's open to transitioning from a starter to coming off the bench.

"I'm all-in on whatever it takes for this team to win," he said. "I'm prepared for whatever comes my way."

Despite the eventful offseason, it sounds like Westbrook is locked in and ready to prove last year was just an anomally.

"I need to just do my job. Whether I'm wanted or not doesn't really matter," he said. "I think the most important thing is that I show up for work and I do the job like I've always done it: Be professional and go out and play my ass off and compete."

The Lakers open their season on Oct. 18 against the defending-champion Golden State Warriors.

LeBron James didn't get the chance to suit up for Ohio State or any other college basketball team because he went straight to the NBA from high school, but it's apparently too early to rule out the chances of the King suiting up for the Buckeyes on the gridiron.

James turned heads Saturday when he tweeted "Do I have college eligibility if I went to play another sport besides basketball? How does that rule work?"

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith jumped at the chance to help:

It is no secret that LeBron is a massive Ohio State fan. He was on the sidelines for the Buckeyes' win over Notre Dame to start the season, was tweeting about Saturday's blowout victory over Wisconsin and called for quarterback C.J. Stroud to win the Heisman Trophy.

James also made it clear in the past he would have gone to Ohio State if he did attend college.

Were it not for basketball, James may have pursued a football career. After all, he was a two-time All-Ohio wide receiver in high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary's and was even recruited by former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel.

Lacing up the football cleats again after a basketball career and around 40 years old may be a different story for James, especially if he was interested in playing at the level the national champion-contending Buckeyes do on a weekly basis, but Smith might see an opportunity to help make it happen.

It appears LeBron James wants to play college football.

The Los Angeles Lakers star, 37, jokingly asked if he had college football eligibility in a Twitter post Saturday:

James, selected first overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, probably could have had a career in football if he wanted to.

The four-time NBA champion played football for two seasons in high school and was considered the No. 1 prospect in the sport out of Ohio. He was recruited to play wide receiver at Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama and Miami (Florida).

However, he never wavered in his interest in playing in the NBA. He's now one of the most successful and talented players in the history of the sport.

James continues to express his interest in football, though, rooting on the NFL's Cleveland Browns and the Ohio State Buckeyes. However, it's probably a little too late for him to suit up alongside players half his age.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach and former NBA star Chauncey Billups appeared on the All The Smoke podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson and said he believes the trajectory of LeBron James' career would have been far different if the Detroit Pistons had drafted Carmelo Anthony.

We all thought we was taking 'Melo. We all was on deck. We all was on board. We all thought 'Melo was 'Melo. We excited. It was perfect. Obviously we had a team. We took Tayshaun [Prince] the year before, but Tay would have been the perfect sixth man, Swiss Army knife, he'll do whatever. I thought we was perfectly built to have 'Melo. 

Here's an interesting question, I say this all the time: If we do get 'Melo, when was 'Bron ever going to take over? ... We're in the same division. ... [Anthony's] going to get raised right in the game. He ain't coming in and shooting 25 times.

It's an interesting thought exercise.

James and Anthony were each drafted in 2003—the former No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers and the latter No. 3 by the Denver Nuggets. The Pistons famously passed on Anthony, No. 4 overall pick Chris Bosh and No. 5 overall pick Dwyane Wade to instead take Serbian center Darko Miličić.

Heading into the 2003-04 season, the Pistons were coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Around a core of Billups, Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton and midseason addition Rasheed Wallace, the Pistons went on to shock Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers in five games to win an NBA title in 2004.

It was their first of two Finals trips, though the only title that group would win together. Wade's Heat knocked them out in the conference finals in the 2005-06 season and James' Cavaliers knocked them out in the conference finals in 2006-07 and the first round in 2008-09.

Would a young Anthony have extended that group's title window? Seeing as he averaged over 21 points per game across his first six seasons, the Pistons would have been formidable with his scoring ability on the roster.

Granted, James' period of dominance didn't come until he departed for the Heat to join with Wade and Bosh. During his first seven seasons with the Cavaliers, he only reached the NBA Finals once and didn't win a title.

By the time James made his Heat debut in 2010, Billups was in Denver, Rasheed Wallace was retired for the first time, Ben Wallace was back in Detroit for a second go-around (and well past his prime) and Hamilton was entering what would be his final season with the Pistons and also on the decline.

James, meanwhile, made the NBA Finals in eight straight seasons between the Heat and Cavaliers, winning three championships, before adding a fourth with the Los Angeles Lakers in the bubble.

Would Anthony on the Pistons have changed that particular trajectory? It seems unlikely. But perhaps the Pistons would have added another banner or two to their collection.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo told ESPN's Malika Andrews on NBA Today Wednesday that he didn't mean to slight Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James with his "crown" celebration during a 111-104 win in Dec. 2019.

"It was nothing against LeBron," Antetokounmpo said. "That's my last name. It means crown."

Antetokoumpo previously noted his name's meaning in an Instagram story in Oct. 2018, per Nick Kampouris of the Greek Reporter. In the post, Antetokounmpo's mother, Veronica, appeared in an image wearing a shirt that reads "the crown from across the seas."

Antetokounmpo was rolling in that game when he made the crown gesture. He had just hit his fifth three-pointer en route to 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. The season ended with him winning his second straight NBA MVP award.

Antetokounmpo became an NBA champion the following year, cementing his Finals MVP status with a 50-point performance to cap a six-game series win over the Phoenix Suns.

He's indisputably one of the kings and faces of the league these days, as is James, who is entering his 20th NBA season and has four NBA championships, four NBA MVP awards and 18 All-Star appearances to his name.

Seeing James and Antetokounmpo on the court together is always must-see action, and that will be the case again this season. The Bucks will host L.A. on Fri., Dec. 2, while the Lakers will welcome Milwaukee into town on Thu., Feb. 9.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James welcomed the news that Robert Sarver is putting the NBA's Phoenix Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury up for sale.

Citing "our unforgiving climate," Sarver said Wednesday he's "seeking buyers for the Suns and Mercury." The move comes a little more than a week after he was suspended for one year and fined $10 million following an investigation into his behavior and the Suns' and Mercury's workplace culture.

Many thought the 60-year-old got off lightly given the results of the investigation.

Attorneys for Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz oversaw the investigation and found that Sarver used "the N-word at least five times in repeating or purporting to repeat what a Black person said—four of those after being told by both Black and white subordinates that he should not use the word, even in repetition of another." The probe also concluded that Sarver "engaged in inequitable and demeaning conduct toward female employees" and "frequently engaged in demeaning and harsh treatment of employees."

James was among those who criticized the punishment doled out to Sarver, saying, "Our league definitely got this wrong."

Suns star Chris Paul echoed the sentiment, saying he was "horrified and disappointed by what I read."

Tamika Tremaglio, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, called for Sarver to receive a lifetime ban from the league:

Hours before Sarver's announcement, Sportico's Emily Caron reported the Women's National Basketball Players Association had written a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert asking for more to be done about the team governor.

The fallout was threatening to hit the Suns' bottom line as well.

PayPal announced it wouldn't renew its commercial partnership with the organization that included a jersey patch sponsorship if Sarver remained in place.

Sarver still stands to profit handsomely from the sale of the Suns and Mercury.

He led the group that purchased a controlling stake in the Suns and Mercury for $401 million in 2004. Last October, Forbes estimated the Suns alone to be worth $1.8 billion.

LeBron James is teasing that he has shaved his head.

The Los Angeles Lakers star posted a picture of himself in a barber chair, showing off a shiny dome:

There are some indications from the image that strongly suggest James used a filter to make himself appear completely bald.

The blurred edges on the top and sides of his head suggest he either used an Instagram filter or has a really low-res camera on his phone. Considering how much money James has earned and his new ad campaign with AT&T, the latter scenario seems unlikely.

James' hair has been the subject of speculation for years. There have been stories dedicated to his hairline and the possibility he's used transplants. None of these debates are relevant to anything, but they give people something to talk about when he's not playing.

Fortunately for the internet sleuths out there, James has given them something new to carefully examine in their quest to decide if this is real or fake.

A definitive answer will come soon, with the Lakers set to open training camp next week.