Los Angeles Lakers v Minnesota Timberwolves
Los Angeles Lakers v Minnesota Timberwolves
LeBron James, who is now playing with the Philadelphia 76ers, gave his thoughts on former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis and his new team, the Washington Wizards, ahead of the 2026-2027 NBA season.
In his NBA season preview episode in the Mind the Game podcast with Steve Nash, James expressed his realizations about the current composition of the Wizards, whose front office added Trae Young and Davis via blockbuster trades late last season before drafting top rookie AJ Dybantsa in the 2026 draft.
LeBron James’ Thoughts On Washington Wizards
Atlanta Hawks v Los Angeles Lakers
GettyLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 03: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis #3 during a 119-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Crypto.com Arena on January 03, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
“They’ve gone from, ‘Let’s work with the lottery balls every year,’ to realizing that this kind of needs to work if this is the team they’re going to have,” James said. “You look at a perennial All-Star in Trae Young, a guy who has been one of the top assist men and scorers in the league, and obviously AD, one of the best two-way players in the league and an NBA champion as well.
“They’ve maybe fast-tracked things a little sooner than expected, like you said. I don’t know if that was necessarily the plan, but this is where they are now. And with AJ in the draft, as you mentioned, they’re putting themselves in a position where they could potentially surprise people in the Eastern Conference, if not the entire league.”
On top of keeping Young and introducing Davis and Dybantsa, the Wizards reconstructed their rotation through a flurry of offseason trades and veteran signings.
The frontcourt received a boost with the addition of Deandre Ayton, LeBron James’ teammate with the Lakers last season, to fortify the center rotation alongside Alex Sarr.
The front office also engineered a multi-team trade with Dallas Mavericks to land veteran forward Khris Middleton. The backcourt depth was also addressed by trading for Tre Mann from the Charlotte Hornets to serve as a spark-plug scorer off the bench.
The transactions raised the team’s ceiling on top of the likes of Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, and Tre Johnson.
Anthony Davis Feels Confident With Renewed Role With Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards v New York Knicks
GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 08: Anthony Davis #23 of the Washington Wizards in action against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on October 08, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Anthony Davis is set to play as a power forward once again after playing as the Lakers and Mavericks’ starting center over the past five years.
Davis explained how this will help him be more confident on the floor with the Wizards in the upcoming season.
“Like, for me, I feel like I’ve been most successful in my career when I had another big, right?” said Davis in the ‘Numbers on the Board’ podcast during media day. “You go back all into New Orleans, right? I had Omer Asik and, you know, Robin Lopez, you know, and Boogie with me. Like, you know, you think about my years in New Orleans. Then go to LA. First couple years, you know, you get the Dwight and the JaVale, then they left, and then it was like all AD at the five, and it’s like, all right, s**t, right?”
“But I think having, you know, myself, Alex [Sarr], and then adding, DeAndre Ayton, another big, it gives me the ability to roam, you know, guard the perimeter. It gives our defense a different dynamic…It’s going to be tough for teams to score on us, man. So, it’s going to be a fun season on both ends of the floor for us.”
For now, it remains to be seen how that will unfold.
The Wizards open their 2026-2027 regular season on Wednesday, October 21, hosting the Milwaukee Bucks at Capital One Arena.
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Rob Andrew Lo Rob Andrew Lo is a writer at Heavy Sports and is covering the NBA. He has covered local, collegiate, professional and international sports in various sites. He was the sports editor of The Varsitarian, the official student publication of University of Santo Tomas, and a sports, entertainment, and lifestyle writer for Rappler. A Journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, he has built his voice across both collegiate and international platforms, previously contributing NBA coverage to Fansided and Sportskeeda. More about Rob Andrew Lo
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