Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis deserves Defensive Player of the Year

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis could add a new trophy to his mantle.

It’s been three months since the COVID-19 pandemic forced NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to place the league on a hiatus. If there’s one thing we haven’t forgotten, it’s Anthony Davis’ stellar Defensive Player of The Year worthy play for the Los Angeles Lakers.

After the official announcement from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, The NBA is set to return on July 30th.

Although many feared that the regular season would be canceled to make time for the playoffs, the league has settled on a 22-team system that will allow for eight more regular-season games.

Since the Lakers have comfortably clinched the playoffs, what use is this extra time for a veteran team? Although the majority of the Laker roster will be trying to get their legs back and cruise into the postseason, two Lakers have unfinished business in the form of award races: LeBron James for MVP and Anthony Davis for Defensive Player of The Year.

With an astounding 2.4 blocks and 1.5 steals per game, there’s been no question that Anthony Davis has been the anchor on the defensive end all season.

Davis has led the Lakers to a league-leading 430 blocks. What makes this stat even more impressive, is that the Portland Trail Blazers—who rank second in the league—have only tallied 411 blocks and have played three more games. In other words, Anthony Davis has led by far the most intimidating interior defense in the league.

The Davis-led Los Angeles Lakers also rank sixth in opponent field goal percentage, fifth in steals, and fourth in team defensive efficiency according to NBA.com.

But how do Davis’ individual defensive stats measure up to the competition? Davis’ 2.4 blocks per game rank him third behind only Hassan Whiteside and Brook Lopez.

Davis is fourth in Defensive Rating and, despite clocking most of his minutes at Power Forward and Center, still ranks a very respectable 15th in steals per game.

Amongst only players listed at Power Forward or Center, Davis is a very impressive third in steals behind only Andre Drummond and an undersized Robert Covington playing out of position for Mike D’Antoni’s small-ball Houston Rockets.

With outstanding individual numbers on the defensive end, Davis has surely been the catalyst for the Lakers’ elite defense this season. However, there have been other defensive stalwarts who have anchored their teams similarly.

Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis’s competition:

Two-time defending Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert is certainly in the conversation. With 2.0 blocks, 0.8 steals, and an impressive 13.7 rebounds per game, Rudy has a shot to become the first player to win the award in three consecutive seasons.

However, Rudy Gobert’s efforts have only propelled the Utah Jazz to a mediocre four seed in the Western Conference. With eight games remaining in the post-COVID schedule, The Jazz lead both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets by only one game and could easily slip into the bottom half of the standings come playoff time.

Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons has also been making quite the case for himself as of late. Before a back injury and the league’s hiatus, Simmons was averaging a league-leading 2.1 steals per game. Simmons’ value on the defensive end also extends far beyond the stat sheet due to his ability to guard multiple positions on the floor.

Unfortunately, Like Gobert, Simmons’ Sixers have been underwhelming thus far. Although his injury is partially to blame for the team’s subpar record, it’s hard to envision a team in sixth place in the Eastern Conference boasting the league’s best defender. In fact, ESPN felt similarly to start the year.

That leaves only one man: Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Despite being one of the league’s best defenders, Giannis’ stats don’t jump off the page this season on that end of the floor. With a respectable but not stellar one block and one steal per game, many may sleep on Giannis.

However, Giannis has helped lead a fantastic Milwaukee Bucks defense that has propelled them to the league’s best overall record. Giannis may be the face of the Bucks and a great defender, but one could argue he’s not even the leader of his team’s defense this season.

Instead, one could make the case for Brook Lopez. Lopez is currently second in the league in blocks per game at 2.4. Despite playing the center position, he also averages a very respectable 0.7 steals.

In short, whether it’s lack of team success or an excellent defensive running mate, Ben Simmons, Rudy Gobert, and Giannis Antetokounmpo all have reasons to come up short this season.

With incredible defensive stats across the board that has led the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference thus far, one can’t help but think that Defensive Player of The Year is Davis’ for the taking.

With eight games to go, we’ll see if Anthony Davis can keep up his inspired play after the hiatus. If he’s able to capture even a fraction of the intensity he’s had this season, he will likely be adding his first Defensive Player of The Year award to his trophy case this year.