Former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Lionel Hollins has sparked debate after sharing a story about LeBron James and Anthony Davis during an appearance on SiriusXM’s “NBA Today.”
Hollins recalled Davis arriving at the team’s weight room expecting to train alongside James after joining the Lakers.
“I’ve got a story to tell you: We got [Anthony Davis] in a trade, and AD comes into the weight room in the morning, and he said, ‘[LeBron!] You said if I came in, we were gonna work out together! Man, we haven’t worked out yet!’” Hollins said.
According to the former Lakers assistant coach, James explained why the workouts never happened.
“[LeBron] said, ‘Well, you’ve got to get up a little earlier to come and work out with me.’ And it was a true statement, because LeBron’s a morning person. He gets up, he does when he needs to do. And AD is sleeping in a little bit later. But he’d get there, and he’d do work. But it couldn’t be with LeBron, because LeBron was already done,” Hollins added.
The story quickly spread across social media, prompting a response from Davis, who posted the 🧢 emoji on X – a common way of calling something false.
While it’s impossible to verify whose version is accurate, Davis’ reaction made it clear he disagrees with Hollins’ account, which suggested James was consistently outworking him because of his early-morning routine.
Anthony Davis disputes ex-Lakers coach’s LeBron James workout claim https://t.co/yhs2yQN6lL pic.twitter.com/Pcln5GBGdP
— New York Post (@nypost) August 4, 2026
