LeBron James and Anthony Davis have combined to bring the Los Angeles Lakers back to a mountaintop they are quite familiar with. After winning the first two games of the NBA Finals, the Lakers are now only two wins short of their 17th NBA championship, which would tie them with the Boston Celtics for the most in NBA history. For most of the past decade, however, it didn't look like the Lakers were anywhere near a return to championship glory. This was the first Lakers Finals trip since 2010, and as such, it has been quite some time since the team has seen the sort of greatness James and Davis have brought to the table.
To be specific, it's been 18 years. In Game 2 of the Finals, James (33) and Davis (32) combined to score 65 total points on the way to a 10-point Laker victory. In the process, they became the first Lakers duo to score 60 points in a Finals game since 2002, when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal accomplished the feat.
During their three-year run of consecutive championships, Kobe and Shaq reached 60 combined points five times: twice in 2000 and 2002, and once in 2001. The duo of Bryant and Pau Gasol won two championships together in 2009 and 2010, but never combined for 60 points in a Finals game. James and Davis still have the rest of this series to build towards that goal, and in all likelihood, they'll be good enough in the next few seasons to make another Finals run or two to push that number.
LeBron played coy when asked about the comparisons. "I can't even believe that we're up here talking about myself and AD with Kobe and Shaq. That's just an incredible thing," he said after the game.
Davis made a bit of history of his own on Friday. By scoring 32 points, he became just the third player in NBA history to reach 30 in his first two career Finals games. He's in pretty good company on that list. The first two players to do so were Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant.
If the Lakers complete this championship run, it will be one of the best any duo has ever posted in league history. James and Davis have dominated this postseason from start to finish, and even if LeBron can't quite believe it, the two have earned comparisons not only to Kobe and Shaq, but to any duo in NBA history.
