Anthony Davis seems to be a polarizing figure in the NBA, especially among fans of the Los Angeles Lakers. While there are certainly those who give him his due, there are at least as many people who swear he is lazy, soft, unmotivated and a malingerer.
Yes, Davis is injury-prone. He had what seemed like his annual ailment in December when he suffered a right foot stress injury and was forced to miss about five weeks as a result.
Yes, Davis, once in a while, will play beneath his standards.
But way more often than not, he is one of the NBA’s truly elite big men, not to mention one of its best players. In fact, for a few extended stretches this season, he was downright dominant and a terror for opposing teams.
Davis’ 2022-23 regular season stats
25.9 points
12.5 rebounds
2.6 assists
2.0 blocks
56.3 percent field-goal shooting
25.7 percent 3-point shooting
78.4 free throw shooting
Davis’ 2022-23 playoff stats
22.6 points
14.1 rebounds
2.6 assists
3.1 blocks
52.0 percent field-goal shooting
33.3 percent 3-point shooting
85.2 percent free throw shooting
Takeaways
A strong argument could be made that this was Davis’ best season yet. He set a career-high in shooting percentage, and just before his injury, he put together a stretch of 13 consecutive games in which he averaged 32.4 points on 64.1 percent shooting and 14.0 rebounds per contest.
He achieved those numbers during that stretch even though he played in just eight minutes and scored only one point in one of those contests due to illness.
Although he had major trouble hitting free throws in crunch time this season, he significantly improved his free throw accuracy, which was something that had been a bone of contention for him the previous two years. In the playoffs, he almost became a human laser from the charity stripe, and historically he has always shot an outstanding percentage from there in the postseason.
Early in the playoffs, Davis was wildly inconsistent offensively from game to game. But starting in Game 3 of the second round versus the Golden State Warriors, he seemed to solve that problem. Overall, he was a beast defensively and on the boards this spring, as he led the NBA in rebounds and blocks per game in the playoffs.
It’s time for Lakers fans, and NBA fans at large, to put some respect on Davis’ name. As LeBron James continues to age, Davis will likely gradually shoulder more of the offensive burden, especially in the regular season. When he does so, he is something to behold.
Staying healthy is at least 80 percent of the battle for him.
Final grade: B-plus
Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire