Anthony Davis, who was shipped to the Lakers during the offseason from the Pelicans after asking to be traded, made his long-awaited return to the Big Easy on Wednesday night.
Despite being showered with boos and jeers from jilted Pelicans fans, Davis put together a night to remember, leading his new team to a 114-110 road victory.
The Kentucky alum was a man on a mission on Wednesday, scoring 41 points and grabbing nine rebounds and three steals against the team that drafted him first overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. He led the Lakers in scoring.
The 41 points that Davis scored in his first game against his former team is an NBA record for points in a player’s first game against his former team, breaking the previous record of 39 set by Kevin Durant against the Thunder back in 2016.
Despite the audible jeers from the home crowd, Davis downplayed his former team’s fans’ reaction to his return. He stated, ” I did hear something during the national anthem. That was the only time; it was super quiet. Other than that, I didn’t really hear much.”
The win improved the Lakers’ NBA-best record to 16-2, as the Pelicans dropped to 6-12 with their loss.
