Anthony Davis has opened up about the physical toll of playing center for the Los Angeles Lakers, revealing he reached a point where he simply felt too heavy to play his game.Davis spent much of his Lakers tenure battling some of the NBAs biggest centers, which led him to deliberately add weight in an attempt to better handle those matchups.The strength training I was doing because I knew I was playing center, like Im going against Joel Embiid and Jokic, Davis said on the Washington Wizards Numbers on the Board podcast. Ive always played like 250, 255. And that year I had got to like 265 and it was like I didnt like it. It was actually probably like 268 and I didnt like it. Im like, bro, I cant play like this. I feel heavy.AD eventually tried dropping the extra weight during the season, but still found himself responsible for defending bigger centers on a nightly basis.That frustration led Davis to approach the Lakers about bringing in another big man, allowing him to spend more time at his preferred power forward position.Thats when I went and was like, Hey man, I want another big and all this stuff, and you know, it just didnt happen, whatever, Davis said.The Lakers, just weeks later, went in a completely different direction, trading Davis to the Dallas Mavericks as part of the blockbuster Luka Doncic deal.Davis arrived at Mavericks training camp weighing around 268 pounds and initially defended his decision to enter the season heavier before trimming down as the year progressed.Now in Washington, Davis believes playing alongside another legitimate big man could allow him to show a different version of himself.Now that Im able to, like you guys will see, like when you put me against another, alongside another big man, its like its a different, you know, ball game for me, Davis said.READ MORE: Victor Wembanyama Draws Hard Line on Promoting Sports Betting
