Los Angeles Lakers fans are stoked about the addition of Anthony Davis, and for good reason. But some may be downplaying the immense impact he’ll have on the defensive end.
When Los Angeles Lakers fans daydream and look forward to Anthony Davis wearing the purple and gold, they mostly envision offensive highlights, such as alley-oops, pick-and-rolls with LeBron James or Rajon Rondo, easy layups and dunks on the fast break, guard-like dribble drives and the occasional perimeter J.
But that all overlooks the defensive end of the floor, where Davis will probably have just as great an impact on the Lakers.
After all, this is a man who has made the All-Defensive First Team once and the All-Defensive Second Team twice in his seven-year NBA career. He’s seventh among active players in career rebounds per game, and he leads all active players in career blocks per game average with 2.4.
He’s also been among the league leaders in defensive box plus/minus the last few years, including a sixth-place rank in 2018-19 at 3.9.
But he’s been saddled for just about his whole career on some pretty bad defensive teams in New Orleans, and has therefore never won the league’s coveted Defensive Player of the Year award. Winning that award will go a long way in christening Davis’ legacy with the purple and gold and helping him retire as one of the game’s greatest centers ever.
It’s an award that only one Laker has ever won. That was Michael Cooper in the mid-1980s. If Davis wins one, he can start to put himself on the same level as guys like Shaq, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.
Here’s why Davis is one of the true front-runners for that accolade this upcoming season.