When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Anthony Davis in 2019, he was under a lot of pressure. There were very high and instant hopes for a championship because Davis wanted to go to the historic team and play with an all-time great like LeBron James.

Although Davis had played in a few playoff games before, there were doubts about whether he could perform well on the biggest stages. LeBron and Davis both knew how much was expected of them.

However, that’s where James’s guidance shines through. Davis went on Sirius XM NBA Radio over All-Star Weekend and talked about when he first joined the Lakers. It was important for LeBron to let Davis know that the pressure was on him, not the big man:

“He’s been in the league long enough to have seen everything. It was probably my first year with the Lakers that we just said, “Look, don’t come in here thinking the pressure is on you.” I’m responsible. It was easy for me to play because he took all the stress off of me.

In their first year together, they did just that, helping the Lakers win an NBA title and return to the top of the league. Since then, though, there have been a lot of injuries, especially to Davis. However, the big man said that LeBron was again in his ear, encouraging him through the tough times:

“And then we had another talk in the last two years, back-to-back years when I got hurt. I was mad, like, “Man, why do I keep getting hurt?'” Some things I can’t change. Then he told him, “Hey man, everything will be okay.” “Come back better and stronger, and let’s get this going.”

There are lots of great players, but being a real boss is a whole other thing. As soon as Davis joined the Lakers, LeBron knew what had to be done, and the two have worked great together.

James gets praise for many great things he does, but maybe his leadership and ability to inspire his friends don’t get as much praise as they should.