Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis has made a strong case throughout these playoffs that he’s the best basketball player in the world.
Was Anthony Davis the best player in the NBA during the regular season? No. He was a definitive top-6 player, and if you squinted in just the right way, he crept into the top-3 along with Los Angeles Lakers teammate, LeBron James.
The king of the NBA isn’t crowned throughout the regular season, though. Those ceremonies take place at the end of the playoffs.
Last season, Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors to their first-ever title while averaging 30.5 points per game during the playoffs. Afterward, most of the pundits rushed to call him the best in the world. Were the experts wrong? Not necessarily.
Last year, Kawhi Leonard mixed a blend of incredible perimeter defense with unstoppable isolation moves that convinced some folks he was the closest thing we’ve ever seen to Michael Jordan.
It’s fair to say that Kawhi was the top dog in the NBA during the 2018-2019 season. His reign was short-lived. Sure, Kawhi Leonard is still a franchise cornerstone, but the way he and the Clippers meekly bowed out to the Denver Nuggets during the playoffs shows that Leonard is no longer the best.
Has Anthony Davis taken the crown and placed it firmly on his head?
We’ll examine the case for and against Anthony Davis as the best player in the league. Finally, we’ll decide if AD is the best basketball player out there.