Warriors fans already have reason to give Anthony Davis a side-eye after he was integral in the Lakers eliminating Golden State from the NBA playoffs last spring. Now, he’s getting on the wrong side of another Bay Area team.
On Saturday, he showed up at Levi’s Stadium to support the 49ers’ longtime playoff rivals, the Green Bay Packers, in the NFC divisional-round game between the two teams.
Davis, a Chicago native, became a Packers fan through his relationship with ex-Green Bay receiver Randall Cobb, a fellow former University of Kentucky athlete who preceded Davis in Lexington by one year.
“I didn’t really follow football like that,” Davis told Green Bay TV reporter Dave Schroeder of his time before making the NBA. “Then when I got to the league, I had to choose a team, and just knowing Randall Cobb, I fell in love with the Packers ever since.”
Davis averaged 21.5 points and 14.5 rebounds in the Lakers’ six-game series win over the Warriors last spring to hand Golden State its first pre-Finals elimination of the Steve Kerr era. Game 1 was a masterclass as he scored 30 points and collected 23 rebounds. He had a 17-and-20 game in the closeout Game 6.
Now he is hoping to witness a second playoff elimination of a Bay Area team in less than a calendar year.
Davis, whose Lakers lost to the Nets at home on Friday night, was joined by teammates D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt for the playoff game, according to SF Gate. They’ll have to be back in Los Angeles for a Sunday night game at Crypto.com Arena against the Clippers.
He’ll soon be back in the Bay Area, though: The Warriors host his Lakers next Saturday night (5:30, ABC).
