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On the Road (East): Thriving on Experience

               

ON THE ROAD AT THE CONFERENCE FINALS - INDIANA VS. NEW YORK
Q&A with Indiana's Davis Boys
They're not brothers; not even cousins. But because of their same last name and strikingly similar games, Antonio and Dale Davis of the Pacers have been lumped together as the Davis Boys, the Davis Brothers or simply D² since Antonio joined the Pacers in 1993, two years after Indiana drafted Dale. Both talked with NBA.com to dispel the myths and allow the fans inside their special friendship, which thrives despite their debate over who's better looking.

Dale says he is better-looking. (Frank McGrath/NBA Photos)

How often do people ask if you're brothers?
Dale: Well, all the time. People think we're brothers, even though I look better than him and we don't really favor each other that much. With the whole thing of the Davis Brothers, the Davis boys, people get us mixed up and they think we are related.

Do you get tired of being asked if you're related?
Antonio: Not really. Dale's a good guy. I think from the first day that I got here, we've established that we're friends and we'll work together to make each other better. We have the same kind of style of play. It's been great being able to come here and have a friend like that. When he was a free agent and I was a free agent, he was asking me if I was really going to stay. That makes a big difference, when you've got guys around you that you love, you really don't want to leave.

Do people ever mix you up, thinking Dale is Antonio and vice versa?
Dale: All the time. People call me Antonio, and then say, "oh no, wait, you're Dale." We get that all the time.

Antonio: Especially when I'm not in town, around here. I'm always mistaken for him. I think it's maybe because his name is easier. Dale is easier than Antonio. Even though they might not know which Davis it is, they'll say Dale first.

Antonio is the one with kids. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBA Photos)

Have you ever been quoted as saying something the other one said, or had your stats mixed up in the paper?
Dale: I've seen on TV stations where I make a play and they call me him or he makes a play and they call him me. That's something that's been going on for a while.

Antonio: All the time, all the time. One time we were reading a book, I think it was about Larry Bird. They were saying Dale goes to chapel and he plays with his kids and all this stuff. OK, so when did Dale have kids and when did he start going to chapel? Actually, Dale goes to chapel too. But if you're going to write a book, get the story right.

You're also lumped together because you're such strong rebounders. What else about your game do you pride yourselves on?
Dale: I look at the little things: the loose balls, helping out on defense, blocking the shots. Sometimes just the little things are a lot bigger than the scoring or rebounding or things that show up on the stat sheet. I take pride in doing the little things.

Antonio: I think our first couple of years, people said all we were doing was rebounding. We've tried, every year, to bring something else to the table. The last couple years, we've tried to become more of a post threat, tried to block shots. We've tried to get more involved in the offense. We're not going to get very far if Dale and I don't contribute in other ways besides rebounding.

Besides the same last name and everything else, you even have similar numbers, with Dale 32 and Antonio 33. How did you come by your numbers? Was that on purpose?
Dale: Actually, I wore 34 in college and in high school. When I came here, that was retired. So I took the next number down.

Antonio: I don't know where it came from. When I came here, that's the number they gave me. I just took it and wore it and was proud of it. Reggie was 31, Dale was 32. If that's one way for me to fit in, I'll be 33.