Marquee names in James and Anthony Davis steal Toronto’s spotlight

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There was an air of royalty Friday night at Scotiabank Arena, a palpable buzz only basketball’s elite can generate.

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With the Raptors in the early stages of their 30th anniversary season replete with all the accompanying pomp and ceremony, any visit by LeBron James is memorable.

The King could have been a Raptor riding shotgun with Vince Carter back in the day had lady luck shined on the club at the draft lottery.

He would be selected first overall by his home state Cleveland Cavaliers.

The rest, as they say, is history.

James will be remembered as one the greatest in basketball history.

When he was introduced Friday night, he received a thunderous applause.

When he buried a corner three-ball 17 seconds into the game, fans were equally enthusiastic in their admiration.

Anthony Davis would also receive strong support among the local faithful, but it wasn’t as pronounced as the one feted to the King, which is to be expected on a night the Lakers led from start to finish in holding off the Raptors, 131-125.

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Michael Jordan was the first revered visitor when his Airness would oppose the Raptors.

Kobe Bryant joined the rarefied group as did Steph Curry, who was often seen with brother Seth drilling long-distance shots as kids prior to tip when their dad Dell played for the Raptors, an era when Carter’s stardom began to explode.

Allen Iverson was beloved by Toronto fans, perhaps more for his cultural influence and bad-boy image.

The most enduring, by far, is the King.

Incredibly, he turns 40 years old this Dec. 30.

If he is so inclined and motivated, he can easily play another three or four years.

Like Jordan in his advanced years, James sees the play before it is executed, reads the game like no other and has a feel like no other.

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No draft lottery has ever created so much anticipation than the 2003 process knowing everyone knew James could be had.

In Toronto, the anticipation reached a fever pitch.

As it turned out, the Raptors drafted fourth overall and would select Chris Bosh, one slot ahead of Dwayne Wade, whose wonky knee had some within the Raptors hierarchy raising a red flag.

Four minutes into the second quarter Friday, a potential break-away dunk by James went awry when the King could not run down a ball that went out of bounds.

It was all LeBron all the time with the Raptors summarily placed on the backburner.

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Saturday night will be Carter’s jersey retirement ceremony, to be held during halftime of Sacramento’s visit when DeMar DeRozan makes his first trip as a member of the Kings.

As for the King, no one will forget the days when the term LeBronto was born, a time when DeRozan and Kyle Lowry were leading the Raptors deep into the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The current iteration of the Raptors won’t be making any playoff push.

As a result, occasions such as Friday and Saturday must be embraced.

Lakers rookie head coach JJ Redick, no stranger to the history of Raptors basketball given his connection to the 2019 Philadelphia 76ers, was Carter’s teammate in Orlando.

“Happy for him and everything that has come his way,” said Redick. “I think anybody who came of age in the late ’90s early 2000s look back on that version of Vince with a high level of fondness.

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“Just an all around great dude and very deserving.”

And to think James could have been Carter’s teammate in Toronto.

At least James was able to win a title, his career fourth, with Davis as his teammate.

The two were unstoppable in the opening quarter in outscoring the Raptors 23-19, a first period that would see the Lakers score a total of 43 points.

L.A. scored the game’s first seven points, prompting the Raptors to call a timeout 73 seconds into the night.

Realistically speaking, the undermanned Raptors had no chance and it became obvious right from the jump.

If healthy, they would have had a puncher’s chance.

One highlight featured first-round pick Ja’Kobe Walter making his NBA debut.

The lowlight involved the 76 first-half points surrendered by the Raptors, who did score a respectable 51 points.

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Davis reached the 30-point total by attempting only 14 shots from the field.

The three-man show of RJ Barrett, Gradey Dick and Jakob Poeltl did make it an eight-point game in the third quarter.

As a side, people like to talk about James’ influence and how his latest act involved his son, Bronny, being taken in the second round by the Lakers.

Fans started chanting Bronny’s name late in the game.

They got their wish when Bronny entered with 7.6 seconds remaining.

Carter wielded power on a different scale with the Raptors until it reached the point of no return, leading to his trade to the New Jersey Nets.

The James love-fest Friday was non-stop, whether he was attempting a shot or setting up a teammate.

Once again, the resilient Raptors refused to go away once the nerves were erased.

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A three-point play by Barrett made it a 104-98 game four minutes into the fourth quarter.

One of the loudest cheers for someone not named James arrived when Poeltl blocked Davis at the rim.

What ensued was a flurry of threes as the Lakers extended their advantage to 15 points.

It’s never good when the Raptors are exchanging baskets, but they couldn’t make stops.

Barrett reached the 30-point mark for the second game in a row, but he was also a facilitator on this night in recording a career-high 11 assists.

Dick also recorded his second straight 30-point game in the loss.

The Barrett/Dick/Poeltl trio accounted for 83 points, 21 assists and 24 rebounds.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

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