Anthony Davis is excited for the Lakers and Clippers rivalry, and other things we learned from the NBA 2K cover reveal

CULVER CITY, Calif. — For the second time in his seven-year career, Anthony Davis will grace the cover of NBA 2K. However, this time Davis won’t be sharing the spotlight with Stephen Curry and James Harden like he did in NBA 2K16, nor will he be wearing a New Orleans Pelicans jersey after being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month.

On Tuesday morning, the All-Star forward stopped by the Microsoft Lounge in Culver City to unveil a special edition NBA 2K20 cover, which will be sold exclusively with one of three Xbox One X NBA 2K20 bundles that are available for pre-order now.

“It feels amazing,” Davis said of being this year’s NBA 2K cover star. “It’s a kid’s dream, a dream come true. Any time you’re young, and especially as a basketball player, you want to be on the cover of 2K and for me to do it twice, it’s a blessing. I’m excited about this one because I’m the solo cover athlete. It should be fun.”

Shortly after the cover reveal, Davis took some questions about the game, as well as the season ahead for the Lakers. One of the more intriguing storylines going into the regular season is the budding rivalry between the Lakers and LA Clippers, who acquired All-Star forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George earlier this month.

Like a few of his new teammates, Davis made it no secret that he’s looking forward to taking on the Clippers, who are the favorites to win the 2020 NBA Championship according to online sportsbook BetOnline.

“It’s going to be exciting. Staples is going to be fun. Especially when we play against each other. So I’m excited about that. Two juggernauts going at it, we’ll see who comes out on top,” Davis said.

Davis and LeBron James have the highest average rating of any duo in NBA 2K20 at 95.5, followed by George and Leonard at 95. Davis has the lower rating between him and James, who’s a 97, but he’s hoping to change that by the end of the season.

“He was the first hundred, so both of us can probably be 100,” Davis said.

“I was a 94 last year. Obviously, with the stuff that happened last season, I didn’t get to play as much and that’s why I kind of figured [my rating] wouldn’t go up as much, but like I said — I’m going to be the first 100.”

However, even if Davis does reach a 100 overall rating, he won’t pick up a controller and play as himself: “I would never play with the Lakers. I don’t like playing with myself on 2K.”

Davis said his favorite teams to play with in the past were the 2017-18 Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs when they had Kawhi Leonard.

That being said, Davis did admit to trading himself to the Lakers on NBA 2K19 and sending clips to James.

“So obviously I traded myself in 2K,” Davis said, “and I was going through all the numbers, and the best I came up with was three, which obviously I had a personal connection with going back to elementary school. And then I ended up running this little scrimmage ... and I set a screen for LeBron, and I rolled to the basket for a lob and I dunked. I recorded him and sent it to him, and I told him ‘all year.’ And he said some very excited things back,” Davis said.

Davis and Ronnie 2K closed out the event by playing a quick exhibition game of 2K. Davis was the Denver Nuggets and Ronnie was the Sacramento Kings. During the game, Ronnie had a clear lane to the rim and threw down a ferocious dunk. Davis paused for a moment and said, “I don’t know who that is,” referring to second-year center Harry Giles.

Ronnie might have gotten the best of Davis by one point, but at least Davis knows who Giles is now.

The regular season is still more than three months away, so until then, Davis said he’s going to use 2K scout opposing players and his team: “It’s really fun that you can do that in 2K.”

NBA 2K20 will hit shelves on Sept. 6.

All quotes obtained firsthand. For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.