Anthony Davis Says He Could Have Won A Title With DeMarcus Cousins And The Pelicans In 2018: “Golden State Was Too Small…”
During an episode of ‘The Bayard Podcast,’ Lakers star Anthony Davis looked back on his days with the New Orleans Pelicans. Speaking specifically on the 2017-2018 campaign, Davis said that he and DeMarcus Cousins could have won it all that year had they just been healthy long enough to have a chance.
“I know for a fu**ing fact we were winning the chip that year,” said Davis. “Golden State was too small. Draymond could only guard one of us. The connection me and him [Cousins] had. I think about that all the time.”
The Pelicans were 27-21 when Cousins went down with a left Achilles tear in late January. Even after he recovered and returned to the court, he was never the same again, and his tenure with the Pelicans would end that summer in unceremonious fashion. While Pelicans star Anthony Davis would go on to lead his team to a shocking 4-0 sweep over the Portland Trail Blazers, they were no match for the Warriors who (even without a true center) proved to be far too much for them to handle. In the aftermath of that season, Davis would lose all trust in the Pelicans and force his way to Los Angeles where he’d finally win a championship with LeBron James. But even now, almost four years removed from his career-defining championship, Davis still thinks about the missed opportunities in New Orleans, and about what could’ve been had luck and better fortune been on their side that season. We will never get the chance to find out for sure, but Anthony Davis had something special with the Pelicans and he’s still trying to re-create it with the Lakers.
