Michael Cooper On Anthony Davis' Importance For The Lakers: “He Needs To Be An MVP Player. Because If Everybody Does Their Job And He Does What He’s Supposed To Be The MVP Player, Lakers Cannot Be Beaten.”

“Now if you remember when the Lakers were in the bubble, they had Howard and JaVale McGee. Anthony Davis didn’t have to play all those big minutes. Go out and be the players he’s supposed to be. I think he’s been put back into that situation. You don’t have to 38-40-45 mins. He needs to be the superstar the Lakers need to win,” Cooper said, as transcribed by Essentially Sports.

“He can get away to playing 60-65 games with some rest in between and that’s the luxury that the Lakers have. Anthony Davis will be the best player out there. When he’s on the court, he creates more problems than any player in the league other than Durant.”

“Anthony Davis needs to be an MVP player. Because if everybody does their job and he does what he’s supposed to be the MVP player, Lakers cannot be beaten.”

This season presents plenty of challenges for the Lakers. Regardless of how good their team looks on paper, the rest of the league made moves to beat them. It remains to be seen if that's enough for the West, but the Lakers struggling right now is a good thing for rivals. 

Still, once they find their touch, it'll be tough to beat them. AD is trying to adapt to his new role, Russell Westbrook is trying to find his spot on the team; LeBron James keeps doing his thing, but that's not how you win a championship. Cooper already explained what the team needs to do. Now the Lakers must show they have what it takes to take the 18th NBA ring.