Anthony Davis may have reached the peak of his NBA career at Disney World after winning the NBA title, but the superstar champion says he has no plans to make a return visit anytime soon.
"Not for at least two years," Davis told Jimmy Kimmel, who asked when he would head back. "We even talked about boycotting playing the Orlando Magic for a while."
.@AntDavis23 on winning first championship, his future with the @Lakers & Kobe’s legacy… pic.twitter.com/MTFa4tb4rd
— Jimmy Kimmel Live (@JimmyKimmelLive) October 14, 2020
It's an understandable position for Davis and the rest of his Lakers teammates to have, as they had been stuck in the Orlando bubble for over three months, facing isolation and complete separation from their friends and family.
That is hardly exclusive to the Lakers. Players from multiple teams have spoken out about how difficult the bubble experience was for their mental health, including NBA Players Association president Chris Paul.
"There were a number of guys who spoke on things day-in and day-out," Paul explained. "Jaylen Brown... Andre Iguodala, CJ McCollum, all these different guys. The intensity of the game is real... We were away from our families and all this stuff is going on and it weighed on guys heavily. If you saw Jamal Murray when he had that unbelievable game in the playoffs, he was in tears. Because we all human beings, right? Yes, we're talented. Yes, we like to play the game that we love... But as soon as these games are over, we go back to being regular people with our families with wives, with kids, whatever it may be."
Fortunately for Davis and the rest of the league, there is no indication that the bubble is the plan for next season, with commissioner Adam Silver saying that the league plans to have a full season that will even be played in front of fans.
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