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Anthony Davis setting the pace for one of the greatest seasons in Lakers history

Posted on November 3, 2024 - 7:49 am by

It’s still early, but Anthony Davis is putting together a season that could rival the all-time Lakers greats.

Anthony Davis has etched his name into history as one of the greatest big men of all time. It’s a controversial statement in some circles due to the exaggeration of his injury woes, but the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has been nothing short of generationally elite.

Having already achieved more than a vast majority of players in the Lakers’ illustrious history, Davis is in the early stages of an all-time season.

It’s understandable to err on the side of patience after a mere six games played. Davis has been nothing short of remarkable from the opening tip to the sound of the final buzzer of the sixth outing, however, and there’s reason to believe he can sustain this level of play.



Understanding how special Davis has been, however, requires a degree of historical context—starting with how he joined Elgin Baylor and Jerry West in Lakers history.

With 31 points the next time out, Davis joined Baylor, West, and Kobe Bryant as the only Lakers to start a season with three consecutive 30-point games.

Davis would post a combined 51 points and 28 rebounds over the next two games before taking his game to an even higher level to help the Lakers snap a two-game losing streak.



Anthony Davis is setting a pace that only Elgin Baylor has matched

After pacing the Lakers to three straight wins to begin the regular season, Davis was tasked with leading his team through adversity. Los Angeles dropped games to the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers before traveling up north to take on the Toronto Raptors.

Davis was everywhere, tallying 38 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, three steals, and two blocks as the Lakers escaped with a 131-125 win.

Through six games, Davis is averaging 31.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.3 offenisve boards, 2.8 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.8 steals per contest. He’s doing so while shooting 57.3 percent from the field and 78.6 percent from the free throw line.

Those numbers may slightly decline as the season progresses, but there’s reason to believe he can generally sustain them.



Davis’ current field goal percentage is only 1.0 percent higher than the mark he posted in 2022-23, thus suggesting he can continue to score in the range of 30 points per game. He’s also averaging fewer rebounds, offensive boards, assists, and blocks than he did in 2023-24, which would imply that those figures could actually increase.

If Davis can sustain something close to his current production, he’ll have a chance to become the first Lakers player since Baylor in 1962-63 to average at least 30.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.

It’s certainly plausible that the production will decline to an elite but slightly less historically significant level. The fact that Davis is doing this at all is unfathomably impressive, however, especially when one considers that he isn’t making outrageous plays to get the job done—he’s simply playing his game and thriving in a system that works for him.



Regardless of what the statistics look like by the end of the season, what’s clear is that the former NBA champion and five-time All-NBA honoree is well on his way to another rush of accolades.