The truth about Anthony Davis on the Los Angeles Lakers

Anthony Davis recently put the Los Angeles Lakers back in the NBA’s spotlight without even touching a basketball for over two months. His stunning admission became a viral Twitter clip courtesy of the Nuke Squad.

Many Lakers fans were furious when they heard AD’s comments to a bunch of gamers on their Youtube channel.

https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1536055683694710786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

AD’s words speak for themselves. Former NBA sharpshooters JJ Redick and Reggie Miller, two of the most credible voices reacting to the news, had entirely different takes on the situation.

Redick took the pro-AD stance in an ESPN segment, stating that he would always wait until early July before he worked on his game every offseason. Redick and his co-analyst Amare Stoudemire agreed that AD’s comments were not a big deal.

Miller disagreed vehemently. The normally-calm Miller was visibly upset when he heard about AD’s words in an interview with longtime sports media personality Dan Patrick.

"Reggie Miller (after being told of the news): “What is this?? Seriously!”Patrick: “What’s worse, saying it or not doing it?”Reggie: “Saying it. This is your job! This is why the Lakers were in the predicament that they were. Has LeBron come back and said ‘dude, what the hell??’ LeBron should be disappointed in this. LeBron is in the front yard of his house shooting with his kids right now.”"

LeBron James, the man Miller said should be disappointed in AD’s comments, did not express any disappointment whatsoever (at least publicly). 

"“Get It Twisted if you want too! I’m due time he’ll remind you once again why he’s HIM!!! And I can’t wait for it to be unleashed!” James posted on Instagram."

But privately…the King is furious!

Shannon Sharpe, LeBron’s biggest mouthpiece in the media, unleashed his wrath on Anthony Davis as if he made himself judge, jury, and executioner of his NBA career. 

"“All of a sudden he got that ring, now he’s gonna be back to square one. It takes a special type of somebody to do what LeBron (James), to do what (Michael) Jordan, to do what Kobe (Bryant) … Everybody is not wired like that. Anthony Davis is not wired like that. He should’ve been Giannis before Giannis. Six-foot-ten, can shoot, can rebound, can play it all. … Why isn’t he? Because it doesn’t mean enough to him. That’s it.”"

Whoa… is this LeBron’s mouthpiece saying these words? Shannon Sharpe has always said the things that LeBron cannot afford to say publicly.

But privately, this is what LeBron is wondering.

Does Anthony Davis feel like he has anything left to prove?

Anthony Davis probably thinks he has nothing left to prove. He is the only basketball player to ever win an NCAA Championship, an Olympic Gold Medal, a FIBA World Cup, and an NBA Championship in his career (what FIBA calls the “Grand Slam of Basketball”). 

So what more can he accomplish? What more does he have to prove to everyone? By the age of 27, Anthony Davis has done literally everything he can do in basketball.

He probably thinks he is “all done” in his mind and is just coasting to ensure he gets every penny of his nine-figure paycheck.

Only Anthony Davis can prove his critics wrong, but the numbers do not lie. Anthony Davis is not the most injury-prone superstar in the NBA.

Let that sink in for a moment…

Alright, I hope you are ready for the truth. Check out the number of games missed by the NBA’s leading superstars…

• Joel Embiid: 308 games missed in 8 seasons (48% of total games missed)
• Kawhi Leonard: 306 games missed in 11 seasons (35% of total games missed)
• Kyrie Irving: 271 games missed in 11 seasons (27% of total games missed)
• Klay Thompson: 228 games missed in 11 seasons (26% of total games missed)
• Anthony Davis: 196 games missed in 10 seasons (24.5% of total games missed)
• Zion Williamson: 141 games missed in 3 seasons (62.4% of total games missed)

His injury history pales in comparison to several other superstars! Why is he called “Street Clothes” and not any of these other guys listed above?

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AD stands for “always durable” compared with the other players listed. But the injury narrative surrounding him is not an excuse for his poor performance!

His scoring numbers for the past two seasons have been his lowest scoring averages since his first two seasons in the NBA. His shooting percentages (14% from three last season!) do not necessarily correlate to how many points per game he scores.

It is the number of shot attempts that is the strongest correlation to his points per game totals. In other words, nobody can stop him when he chooses to be aggressive.

Furthermore, the endless debate if he should play power forward or center is not an excuse, nor does it really correlate to how well he plays (or how often he gets injured).

In his first year as a Laker, he was the center about 40% of the time. Last season, he only spent 10% of his time at center. This season, he spent 76% of his time on the court as the center.

So it really doesn’t matter what position he plays. The NBA evolved into a position-less league years ago. He just has to dominate his individual matchup.

Yet his injuries (78 games missed in the last two seasons alone!) and the questions over which position he should play are overshadowing this undisputed fact.

Anthony Davis has underachieved in the past two seasons. He has not had the same fire since he carried the Lakers to a championship in 2020.

Ultimately, only he can answer the burning question asked by Lakers fans and media pundits across the globe.

Will AD stand for “always dominating” or “always day-to-day” this season?

Only he knows.