Anthony Davis
Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD", is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played for the New Orleans Pelicans. He plays the power forward and center positions. Davis is a nine-time NBA All-Star and has been named to four All-NBA First Teams and four NBA All-Defensive Teams. In his first season with the Lakers, he won the 2020 NBA Finals. In 2021, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[1] He also won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023 with the Lakers. Davis is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time.
Davis played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, when he was first team All-American and the Consensus National Player of the Year. He also won the USBWA National Freshman of the Year, NABC Defensive Player of the Year and the Pete Newell Big Man Award. Davis led the NCAA in blocks and set Southeastern Conference and NCAA Division I freshman single-season blocked shots records. He led Kentucky to a national championship and was named the most outstanding player of the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Davis left college for the NBA after one season and was drafted as the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, and was selected that summer to play in the 2012 Olympics. After his rookie season, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. The next season, he became an All-Star for the first time and led the NBA in blocked shots per game. He has since become the youngest player to score at least 59 points in an NBA game. In 2017, he was named the recipient of the NBA All-Star Game MVP Award after setting an All-Star Game scoring record of 52 points. Davis was traded to the Lakers in 2019. He has won gold medals with the United States national team on their 2012 Olympic team and 2014 World Cup team, making him the first player in basketball history to win an NCAA title, NBA title, Olympic gold medal and FIBA World Cup.
Professional career
New Orleans Hornets / Pelicans (2012–2019)
Rookie year (2012–2013)
Davis declared for the 2012 NBA draft alongside the rest of the national championship team starting five: fellow freshmen Kidd-Gilchrist and Teague, and sophomores Jones and Doron Lamb.[133] At the 2012 NBA Draft Combine, Davis measured at 6 feet 9.25 inches (2.06 m), 221.8 pounds (100.6 kg) and had the second-longest wingspan—7 feet 5.5 inches (2.27 m)—of any player participating.[134] On June 28, the New Orleans Hornets selected Davis with the first overall pick.[135] Davis became the fifth Chicago-area first overall selection following Cazzie Russell (1966), LaRue Martin (1972), Mark Aguirre (1981) and Derrick Rose (2008).[136] On July 24, 2012, Davis signed a three-year $16 million guaranteed contract with the Hornets as prescribed by the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.
On November 1, 2012, Davis made his debut against the San Antonio Spurs. He scored a team high 21 in a losing effort.[138] On November 2, Davis suffered a concussion that sidelined him for two-and-a-half games until November 9.[139][140] In his November 9 return, he posted his first double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds as well as 5 blocks, 2 steals and 2 assists in a victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.[141] On November 17, he totaled 28 points and 11 rebounds against the Milwaukee Bucks.[142] On November 20, Davis was announced to be out of the lineup for "a stress reaction" on his ankle.[143] He was cleared to play on December 11, 2012 after missing 11 games.[144][145] On December 18, he posted a career-high 4 steals to go along with 15 points and a then-career-high 16 rebounds against the Golden State Warriors in his first start since being disabled on November 20.[146]
Davis appeared in the February 15, 2013 Rising Stars Challenge during the 2013 NBA All-Star Game weekend.[147] Davis was removed from the Hornets' lineup on February 27 following a collision with Brook Lopez the prior night in which he sprained his left shoulder.[148] On March 5, Davis returned to the starting lineup with 17 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocked shots against the Orlando Magic.[149] On March 9, Davis established a career high in rebounds with 18 to go along with 20 points against the Memphis Grizzlies.[150] On March 20, Davis tipped in the game-winning basket over Kevin Garnett against the Boston Celtics with 0.3 seconds remaining.[151] On April 10, Davis suffered a season-ending left knee medial collateral ligament sprain and bone bruise.[152] He was injured in a collision with Marcus Thornton of the Sacramento Kings.[153] He was a 2013 NBA All-Rookie First Team selection,[154] and finished second in NBA Rookie of the Year voting (with 306 points) to Damian Lillard (605).[155] His 20 double-doubles was the most in his rookie class.[156]
As a rookie, he proved to be mostly a pick-and-roll threat on offense, but was effective in fast break transition and on the offensive boards. He needed to develop his isolation and post-up skills.[157] His rookie skill set was said to resemble a young Lamar Odom, but he added over 10 pounds (4.5 kg) following his rookie season.[158]
After the 2012–13 season, the Hornets renamed themselves the Pelicans.[159] Davis donated $65,000 toward the construction of a basketball court at his alma mater, Perspectives.[160][161] On October 16, 2013, during the preseason of Davis's sophomore year for the 2013–14 New Orleans Pelicans, the Pelicans exercised the team's third-year option on Davis's contract.[156]
First All-Star selection (2013–2014)
Davis began the 2013–14 NBA season with the newly-renamed Pelicans with a pair of double-doubles, posting 20 points and 12 rebounds against Indiana on October 30[162] and 26 points and 17 rebounds against Orlando on November 1.[163] In the Orlando game, Davis became the youngest player in franchise history to record 25 points and 15 rebounds in a game.[163] In the third game of the season against Charlotte on November 2, Davis established career highs with 6 blocks and 6 steals, while helping New Orleans to its first victory. He also became the first player with 6 blocks, 6 steals and 25 points in a game in the last 20 years and only the fifth with at least 5 blocks, 5 steals and 25 points in that period.[164] For the week, Davis earned an NBA Player of the Week nomination, but lost out to Kevin Love.[165] On November 8, against the Los Angeles Lakers, Davis scored a career-high 32 points and tied a career high with 6 blocks, along with 12 rebounds, becoming the youngest player ever to have at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in an NBA game.[166][167] On November 16, he established a new career high with 8 blocks against Philadelphia.[168] He again had 8 blocks on November 20 against the Utah Jazz. With two 8-block games in the Pelicans' first 11 games of the 2013–14 NBA season, Davis matched the number of 8-block games that Roy Hibbert had at that time in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 NBA seasons combined. No other players had two 8-block games as recently.[169] According to ESPN, while drawing a charging foul from Amar'e Stoudemire, Davis suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand in the first quarter against the New York Knicks on December 1.[170] Yahoo! Sports claims the injury came on an attempted alley oop.[171] On December 3, the Pelicans announced a four-to-six-week layoff was expected.[172] The injury came the night before he was supposed to play in his hometown of Chicago, marking the second year in a row that he was sidelined for his chance to play in his hometown.
First All-NBA and playoff appearances (2014–2015)
Milwaukee Bucks.[218] On March 15 in a double overtime game against the Denver Nuggets, Davis became the first player in NBA history to tally 36 points, 14 rebounds, 9 blocks and 7 assists in a game since blocks became a statistic in 1973. Only David Robinson has had at least 30 points, 11 rebounds, 8 blocks and 7 assists in a game.[219] On March 16, Davis earned Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, March 9, through Sunday, March 15 and was a finalist for Western Conference Player of the Month of March.[220][221] In the final game of the regular season, a must-win game that would send the Pelicans to the 2015 NBA playoffs, Davis recorded 31 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in a 108–103 victory over the defending-champion San Antonio Spurs. The playoff berth was Davis's first and the franchise's first since 2011.[222] Davis's season was one of the most impressive in NBA history, finishing the season averaging 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, and leading the league in player efficiency rating with 30.89.[223] He was a finalist for Western Conference Player of the Month again in April.
In his first career playoff series, Davis averaged 31.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. Although swept by the overall number one seeded Golden State Warriors, who went on to win the NBA championship,[225] Davis joined Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Karl Malone as the only players in the past 20 seasons to average 30 points and 10 rebounds in the playoffs.[226] Davis also became the first player in 40 years to average 30 points and 10 rebounds in a player's first playoff series, with the only other players to do so being Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob McAdoo.[226] At the end of the season, Davis finished 4th in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award voting,[227] 5th in the NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting,[228] sixth in the NBA Most Improved Player Award voting.[229] He was selected to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career, becoming the first player to make the first team in his first three seasons since Derrick Rose did so in the 2010–11 NBA season.[230][231] He was also an NBA All-Defensive Team second team selection.[232]
Season-ending injury (2015–2016)
On July 9, 2015, Davis signed a five-year, $145 million contract extension with the Pelicans.[233][234] On November 6, he tied his career-high of 43 points in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.[235] On December 1, he tied a career-high 9 blocked shots in an offensive off night against the Memphis Grizzlies.[236] On December 20, in a win over the Denver Nuggets, Davis scored a single-quarter career-high 19 first quarter points to finish the game with 27.[237] On January 15, Davis converted an alley oop dunk from Jrue Holiday with 2 seconds remaining to give New Orleans a 109–107 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.[238] On January 28, Davis was named as a reserve for the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.[239] He again came close to a five-by-five with a 28-point, 10-rebound, 4-assist, 4-block, 4-steal effort on February 3 against the San Antonio Spurs.[240] The following day, he was named to the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge lineup.[241]
On February 21, in a win over the Detroit Pistons, Davis scored a franchise-record 59 points and pulled down 20 rebounds. The previous franchise record was 50 points by Jamal Mashburn exactly 13 years earlier against the Memphis Grizzlies. Davis joined Shaquille O'Neal and Chris Webber as the only NBA players with 50 points and 20 rebounds in a game since 1983.[242] Davis also became just the 20th player in NBA history to score at least 59 points in a game,[243] and became the youngest player in NBA history to score 59 points in a game, and the second youngest (behind Bob McAdoo) to record 50 points and 20 rebounds in a game. The 59 points was an NBA-wide season high at the time.[244] The total was not surpassed until the final night of the season when Kobe Bryant posted 60 in his final career game.[245] Davis posted a third 40-point game (40 points and 13 rebounds) on March 9 against the Charlotte Hornets.[246] On March 20, he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a left knee injury and a torn labrum in his left shoulder.[247][248] Upon being deactivated, Davis claimed that he had been playing through left shoulder pain since his rookie season.[249]
All-Star record-breaker (2016–2017)
On October 26, Davis began the season with a 50-point, 16-rebound, 7-steal (career high),[250] 5-assist, 4-block performance against the Denver Nuggets. He was one block short of his first five-by-five. It was the first 50-point, 15-rebound, 5-assist, 5-steal performance in NBA history since steals became an officially recorded statistic in the 1973–74 season.[251] His 50-point night was the second highest scoring output of his career and was the most by any NBA player in a season opener since Michael Jordan scored 54 points in 1989.[252] Two days later, he had 45 points and 17 rebounds against the Golden State Warriors, becoming the first back-to-back-game 40-point scorer in Pelicans history (since the New Orleans Hornets creation in 2002).[253] On November 10, he scored 32 points against the Milwaukee Bucks, helping the Pelicans record their first win of the season after starting 0–8.[254] On November 19, Davis posted 38 points and 16 rebounds, including 11 of the Pelicans' final 16 in an overtime win against the Charlotte Hornets. He posted the game-tying score with 18 seconds remaining in regulation.[255] On November 23, he had a 45-point effort in a 117–96 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves; it was the Pelicans' fourth straight win.
On February 2, he was selected as a participant in the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge.[260] On February 10, he had 42 points and 13 rebounds in a 122–106 win over the Timberwolves. Davis scored 40 for the sixth time this season, and it was his highest-scoring game since he put up 45 against Minnesota on November 23.[261] On February 19, 2017, playing on his team's home floor for the NBA All-Star Game, Davis notched 52 points and 10 rebounds, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's previous All-Star record high of 42 points, and also won the game's Most Valuable Player award.[262] This record has since been broken by Jayson Tatum in 2023.[263] On March 11, 2017, Davis scored 46 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in a 125–122 overtime win over the Charlotte Hornets.[264] On March 31, 2017, Davis had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in a 117–89 win over the Sacramento Kings. During the game, Davis became the first player in Pelicans history to reach 2,000 points in a season.[265] Following the season, he edged out Rudy Gobert as the center on the All-NBA first team.[266] He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the second time.[267]
Second playoff appearance (2017–2018)
scored 33 of his franchise playoff-record 47 points in the second half, as the Pelicans completed a first-round sweep of the Trail Blazers with a 131–123 victory.[286] In Game 3 of the Pelicans' second-round series against the Golden State Warriors, Davis recorded 33 points, 18 rebounds and four steals, as the Pelicans defeated the Warriors 119–100 to trim Golden State's series lead to 2–1.[287] The Pelicans went on to lose the series in five games, with Davis recording 34 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks in a 113–104 loss in Game 5.[288] At the end of the season, he finished 3rd in the NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting and 3rd in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award voting.[289] Following the season, he earned his first NBA All-Defensive First Team and his third All-NBA First Team selections.[290][291][292]
Requesting a trade (2018–2019)
In the Pelicans' season opener on October 17, Davis had 32 points, 16 rebounds and a career-high eight assists to go with three blocks and three steals in a 131–112 win over the Houston Rockets.[293] On November 7, he had 32 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in a 107–98 win over the Chicago Bulls.[294] On November 12, he had 25 points and a season-high 20 rebounds in a 126–110 win over the Toronto Raptors. It was the fifth 20-point, 20-rebound game of Davis's career.[295] On November 16, he scored a season-high 43 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a 129–124 win over the New York Knicks.[296] A day later, he recorded 40 points, eight rebounds and a career high-tying eight assists in a 125–115 win over the Denver Nuggets.[297] On November 21, Davis missed the third of three free throws with 2.5 seconds left, as the Pelicans lost 121–120 to the Philadelphia 76ers. He finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds and reached 10,000 career points with a dunk late in the first half.[298] He became the eighth-youngest player to reach the milestone at the age of 25 years and 255 days.[299] On December 5, he scored 27 points to go with a career-high nine assists, five blocks and four rebounds (nine below his average) in a 132–106 win over the Dallas Mavericks.[300] On December 12, he had 44 points and 18 rebounds in a 118–114 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.[301] On December 28, he hit a go-ahead, fall-away jumper with 43.9 seconds left and scored a season-high 48 points to lift the Pelicans to a 114–112 win over the Mavericks.[302] On January 2, 2019, Davis posted a career-high and franchise-record 26 rebounds along with 34 points against the Brooklyn Nets.[303][304] On January 14, he had 46 points and 16 rebounds in a 121–117 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.[305] On January 19, he was ruled out for one to two weeks with a left index finger sprain, an injury sustained the previous night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
On January 28, Davis informed the Pelicans that he would not sign a contract extension in the coming off-season, and requested a trade. He was eligible to become a free agent in the summer of 2020.[307][308] A day later, the NBA fined him $50,000 for making his request public.[309] Davis recovered from his injury and was available to play, but the Pelicans said they would hold him out until after the league trade deadline on February 7.[310] After the deadline passed without a trade, the team announced that Davis would play the rest of the season; they faced potential fines by the league if they held him out.[311][312] On February 8, he played for first time since his trade request. He had 32 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in 25 minutes before being benched for the entire fourth quarter in a 122–117 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[313]
Los Angeles Lakers (2019–present)
First NBA championship (2019–2020)
In July 2019, the Pelicans traded Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round draft picks, including the Lakers' No. 4 overall selection in the 2019 NBA draft.[314][315][316] He made his Lakers debut on October 22, 2019, against the Los Angeles Clippers, putting up 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in 37 minutes in a 112–102 loss.[317] On October 29, he became the first Laker to put up a 40-point and 20-rebound performance since Shaquille O'Neal in 2003.[318] Additionally, Davis did this in 30 minutes of play, which has never been done in the history of the NBA.[319] On November 27, Davis made his return to New Orleans for the first time since the trade, recording 41 points and 9 rebounds in a 114–110 win over the Pelicans.[320] The 41 points set an NBA record for the most points scored by a player in his first game against a former team.[320][321] On December 8, Davis scored a season-high 50 points in a 142–125 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[322] On January 3, 2020, Davis had 46 points and 13 rebounds in a 123–113 win over the Pelicans.[323] On January 23, 2020, he was selected to be a front-court starter for the NBA All-Star Game.[324]
In January 2020, Davis declined the Lakers' offer of a four-year, $146 million max extension, opting to enter free agency, where he could earn a five-year, $202 million max contract in the upcoming summer.[325][326] On August 8, Davis had 42 points and 12 rebounds in a 116–108 win over the Utah Jazz to help the Lakers clinch the No. 1 playoff seed in the Western conference.[327] He played in 62 of 71 games during the regular season and finished as a runner-up in voting for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.[328] In Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, Davis hit a game winning 3-pointer against the Denver Nuggets while putting up 31 points and scoring the last 10 points for the Lakers in a 105–103 win for 2–0 lead in the series. They advanced to the 2020 NBA Finals, where Davis and LeBron James led the Lakers to a 4–2 win over the Miami Heat for the franchise's 17th championship, tying them with Boston for the most in league history.[329] Davis became the first player to win an NCAA title, an Olympic gold medal, a FIBA World Cup, and an NBA title.[330]
Injury-plagued seasons (2020–2022)
On December 3, 2020, Davis re-signed with the Lakers on a five-year, $190 million contract that included an early termination option prior to the fifth season in 2024–25.[331][332] For the 2020–21 season, he was sidelined for 30 games (February–April 2021), the longest absence of his career, due to right calf and heel issues.[333] In the opening round of the playoffs, the Lakers were up 2–1 in the series against the Phoenix Suns when Davis suffered a strained left groin in Game 4. He was also sidelined in Game 5, when the Suns took a 3–2 lead. He returned in Game 6 but played only five minutes after reaggravating the injury.[334][335] The Lakers lost.[336]
On December 17, Davis exited in the third quarter of a 110–92 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves after suffering an MCL sprain in his left knee.[337] He missed 17 games before returning in late January,[338] and for the first time since 2013 was not selected for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.[339] On February 16, 2022, in a 106–101 win against the Utah Jazz,[340] Davis injured his right ankle and missed 18 games.[328] In the 40 games he played during the season, Davis averaged 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.3 blocks in 35.1 minutes of per game, and the Lakers missed the playoffs.[341]
Return from injury and Western Conference Finals (2022–2023)
On November 13, 2022, Davis scored 37 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in a 116–103 win over the Brooklyn Nets, to help the Los Angeles Lakers snap a five-game losing streak.[342] In the next game, Davis recorded a then season-high 38 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks in a 128–121 win over the Detroit Pistons.[343] On November 22, Davis posted a then-season-high 21 rebounds along with 37 points, 5 steals and 5 blocks in a 115–105 loss against the Phoenix Suns. He became the first player since the 1973–74 season (when blocks and steals became an official stat) to record 35-plus points, 20-plus boards, 5-plus steals and 5-plus blocks in a game. It was his fourth consecutive game with 30-plus points and 15-plus rebounds. Davis also became just the third Laker in franchise history to record 30-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in four consecutive games, joining Elgin Baylor (had seven such streaks) and Shaquille O'Neal (November 19–26, 1999).[344][345]
On December 2, Davis scored a then season-high 44 points, along with 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in a 133–129 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.[346] On December 4, Davis scored a season-high 55 points along with 17 rebounds and three blocks in a 130–119 win over the Washington Wizards. He joined Kevin McHale as only the second player in NBA history to put up at least 55 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks in a game since blocks became an official stat in the 1973–74 season. Davis became only the fourth player to score at least 99 points in a two-game span while shooting at least 70% from the field; Elgin Baylor had three of those streaks, Wilt Chamberlain had two and David Thompson had one. He also became the first Laker with back-to-back 40-point games since Kobe Bryant in March 2013.[347][348] On December 5, Davis was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for Week 7 (November 28 – December 4), his eighth career NBA Player of the Week award and first with the Lakers. He led the Lakers to 3–1 week with averages of 37.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.25 blocks.[349]
On January 25, 2023, Davis returned after missing the previous twenty games with a right foot injury. He posted 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in 26 minutes off the bench in a 113–104 win over the San Antonio Spurs.[350] On February 26, he led the Lakers to a 111–108 come-from-behind victory over the Dallas Mavericks with 30 points and 15 rebounds.[351] It was the biggest comeback of the season at that time, and the Lakers' biggest comeback in franchise history since 2002.[352] On March 5, Davis recorded 39 points, eight rebounds and six assists in an 113–105 win over the reigning champions the Golden State Warriors.[353] On March 7, Davis put up 30 points and a season-high 22 rebounds in a 112–103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. He also became the first Laker to drop multiple games with at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in a season since Shaquille O'Neal in 2003–04 season.[354] On April 3, Davis was named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for Week 20 (March 27 – April 2). Davis averaged 38.7 points (.652 FG%, .806 FT%), 11.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 2.0 blocks in three games, as the Lakers finished the week 3–0 with road victories over Chicago, Minnesota and Houston.[355] He also earned NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for March/April on April 11, 2023.[
In Game 1 of the Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Davis recorded 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a playoff career-high seven blocks in a 128–112 win.[357] In Game 3 of the Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Davis put up 31 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks in a 111–101 win.[358] In Game 1 of the Lakers' second-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, Davis posted 30 points, a playoff career-high 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in a 117–112 win. He joined Tim Duncan as the only players in NBA history to put up at least 30 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in a playoff game.[359] In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Davis recorded 40 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in a 132–126 loss against the Denver Nuggets.[360] The Lakers ultimately lost the series to the eventual NBA champion Nuggets in a four-game sweep.[361] During the 2023 playoffs, Davis became the third Lakers player with 50 blocks in a single postseason, behind only Shaquille O'Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[362]
