Anthony Davis is the best player in the NBA right now. As LeBron James and Kevin Durant recover from their injuries, Davis continues to wreak havoc in the NBA. If the New Orleans Pelicans make it into the postseason for the first time since 2011, Davis will be an instant MVP forerunner. Furthermore, at just 21 years of age, Davis has emerged as the leader of this young Pelicans team — a leader the team desperately needed.
Davis (a.k.a. “The Brow”), listed at 6-foot-10, 220 pounds (although he now says that number is up to 245), is an athletic freak of nature. He has a wingspan of about seven-and-a-half feet, a standing reach of nine feet and as good a shot blocking ability as Dikembe Mutombo. He is averaging 24.5 points per game (fourth in the NBA) and 10.3 rebounds per game (7.6 defensive). He’s shooting 83.1 percent from the foul line and averaging 2.74 blocks per game (tops in the NBA) while hauling a hefty 35.8 minutes per game. He’s got 29 double-doubles (fifth in the league) in 46 games played.
In the 2013-14 season, Davis became the sixth person in NBA history to average 20 points per game, 10 rebounds per game and 2.8 blocks per game in just his second year in the pros. By doing so, he joined the likes of Hall-of-Famers Bob McAdoo, Alonzo Mourning, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson, as well as future Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal.
Davis just recently exemplified what a key player he can be in a thrilling win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, when he drilled a double-clutch game-winning 3-pointer in Durant’s mitt as time expired. During that game, he had amassed 41 points on the night. In fact, that 3-pointer he hit to sink the Thunder and spoil Russell Westbrook’s 48-point night was Davis’s first three of the year. With the game on the line, though, he withdrew from his comfort zone and nailed the biggest shot of his young career.
More recently, against the Chicago Bulls, Anthony Davis suffered a shoulder injury. When he got hurt, the score was tied, 35-35. With Davis out of the New Orleans lineup, the Bulls eviscerated the Pelicans by a score of 107-72. Luckily for New Orleans, Davis was not severely injured. He is currently considered day-to-day.
His presence on the court is felt immediately by all his opponents. Before the Detroit Pistons played the Pelicans last month, Detroit head coach Stan Van Gundy said he doesn’t “think anybody to this point of the season has had as good a year as Anthony Davis.” And Davis has improved many of his stats since then.
If a basketball fantasy draft was held tomorrow, and I were an NBA general manager, I would consider selecting Anthony Davis as much as Kevin Durant, and even LeBron James. Davis, like Durant and James, is an anomaly of an athlete. What separates Davis from these two foes, though, is his age.
What Davis is doing at such a young age is absolutely incredible, and nobody knows what else he will be capable of by the time he is Durant’s age (26) or LeBron’s age (30). As good as he already is, there is still so much room for improvement, and so much more potential.
University of Kentucky coach John Calipari, who mentored Davis during his only year of college basketball, said Davis “could be the best player in the NBA” in as little as five years. Davis’s dynamic abilities separate him from his competitors, such as current MVP favorite Stephen Curry.
Curry has also dominated the NBA this season. His 23.6 points per game is top-10 in the league, and his 34.2 points per 48 minutes is top three. Additionally, he currently averages 7.9 assists per game (5th in the NBA) and 2.12 steals per game (2nd in the NBA), proving that he is elite offensively and important defensively.
What separates Davis from Curry, though, is his pure athleticism. Davis clearly has a distinct advantage based on his 6’10” body and Yao Ming-esque wingspan. He can change the complexion of any given game by making a nearly impossible play look easy. Curry is also surrounded with quality teammates such as budding superstar Klay Thompson, Andrew Bogut and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Draymond Green. Davis has two quality teammates with Eric Gordon and Ömer Aşık, but without a healthy Jrue Holiday, the Pelicans’ entire future resides on the back of Davis.
Lastly, Davis has kept New Orleans alive in the Western Conference playoff hunt. The Pelicans (27-25) are currently in last place in the Southwest division, but just a game out of the final playoff seat.
Though the Southwest is hands-down the most competitive division in the league, New Orleans has held its own, and is currently 6-4 against divisional opponents Memphis, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio Spurs, all of whom have over 30 wins.
The New Orleans Pelicans have the potential to become an NBA powerhouse in just a few seasons. Anthony Davis is exactly the type of player to build a team around. He possesses unbelievable talent and emphatic leadership unlike any other NBA players his age. The Brow is here to stay.
