Lakers: Why Anthony Davis deserves Defensive Player of the Year

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis deserves the Defensive Player of the Year award.

So far this season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been top five in offense and defense in the league. A great sign of a championship contender and that comes mostly from the addition of Anthony Davis.

When the Lakers decided to trade away the young core for Anthony Davis, it was known what a great offensive talent Davis was and to join forces with the greatest player in the league in LeBron James, who happens to also be the best point guard you could create in a basketball laboratory.

With everything that Davis can do offensively, sometimes his defense gets overlooked, which is incredible when you factor in that the Los Angeles Lakers ranked 20th in defense the season before Davis arrived.

MUST-READ: Three trades to make involving Danny Green

This not to say that Davis is the sole reason why the Lakers have jumped all the way to second in defense, but he does play a big role.

What Davis brings to the table is invaluable to the modern game and how teams run their offense. Most teams in the league run pick and rolls with a mixture of off-ball movement and sets; the majority of the contenders tend to run top of the key pick and rolls.

Davis is a big that cannot be picked-on, unlike some of his counterparts in the DPOY race. When teams run the pick and roll they have to account for Davis being in the passing lanes and the roll pocket pass.

Not only does Davis move his feet well and contain the space to which the lob threat is null and void, even if teams decide to force a switch with Davis picking up the guard, it is a nightmare to try to get a shot off with the freakishly long arms and the athleticism Davis has.

The Defensive Player of the Year award should be awarded to the most versatile defender in the league and Davis is the perfect player for that definition.

Countless times this season Davis has shown the versatility of guarding the big and shutting down a shifty guard in the same game. Those moments are game-changing when the game begins to slow down in the NBA Playoffs.

Davis has shown the ability to contain wings while also holding opponents to 39 percent shooting in the paint. That is what DPOY sounds like to me.