In a world where offense is front of mind, Anthony Davis feels his defensive ability on the Lakers is often overlooked.
When it comes to Anthony Davis’ defensive prowess, there are two camps: people who think he is underrated and underappreciated and those who believe he is good but not among the best in the NBA.
Lakers fans, in particular, rally around AD’s defensive impact because they see it nightly. He led the Lakers with 2.3 blocks per game last season and was second on the team in steals at 1.2, just a decimal point behind Lakers leader LeBron James in swipes.
It’s not just the most obvious defensive stats where Davis stands out; he passes the eye test with flying colors.
He can switch on most players regardless of position, protects the paint better than any other Laker and discourages so many shots from even being attempted. After a few blocks, you can see players hearing footsteps that aren’t there and looking back to make sure Davis isn’t around to swat a shot.
On Monday at Lakers Media Day, he was asked about what part of his defense goes underappreciated and he was as blunt as AD can be, saying that it all goes without getting its lack of respect.
Anthony Davis on which part of his defensive game isn’t appreciated enough: “All of it. Every part.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) September 30, 2024
It’s hard to argue with Davis that his defense isn’t appreciated enough. The national media, in particular, has snubbed it at every turn. He’s never won a Defensive Player of the Year award; he wasn’t even a finalist last season.
This NBA year hasn’t even started and Davis’ defense is already being disrespected. It’s hard to imagine what more AD can do to show his defensive impact and how elite he is on that side of the court.
It’s April 4th, 2006. We’re in Boston for the 2006 NCAA final between a school with a powerhouse reputation that you might be surprised to hear has never won a championship, and a school you might not be surprised to hear has never won a championship. The first one’s Duke, and the latter is Maryland in case I’m being too opaque. Terps have the ball, down three, with 12 seconds left. To understand just how surprising it is that Maryland is this close to winning the title, and how annoying that must be for Duke, we gotta rewind.
So, as the Lakers begin their new season, the plea I have is to watch Davis on the defensive side of the ball more. Lakers coach JJ Redick might be talking about Davis as the offensive hub, but he’s already the defensive focal point.
Davis impacts how teams play whenever he’s on the court. He cleans up many mistakes and raises the floor of the Lakers’ defense whenever he’s playing.
In a world dominated by highlight clips, offense remains king, but let’s make sure to appreciate the other side of the game. Few players defend better than AD and the disrespect has reached comical proportions.
Years after he’s done playing, we’ll talk about how ridiculous it is that one of the best defenders never won Defensive Player of the Year.
Davis may have given up on winning the award, but it’s not too late to spread awareness on his greatness. His play is underrated all around, but on defense, he is world-class.
Let’s make this the year we scream it to the mountaintops and push for the Anthony Davis Defensive Player of the Year campaign harder than ever, even if they are already etching Victor Wembanyama’s name on the award.