The nine-time NBA All-Star won his first gold medal as a seldom-used player in 2012, an experience that shaped his NBA career
France – What a difference 12 years has made for USA Basketball forward Anthony Davis.
The No. 1 pick in the 2012 NBA draft was the last guy on the bench on the 2012 London Olympics team. Now, the Los Angeles Lakers star is a key player for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I was a towel waver coming fresh out of college [in 2012],” Davis told Andscape. “To be an integral part of it now and actually getting minutes, I have a different type of appreciation.”
Team USA went undefeated en route to winning the gold medal in 2012. The Americans’ illustrious roster included the late Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, among others. Prior to the Olympics, Davis was the No. 1 pick of the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets. The 6-foot-10 big man played in seven of the eight Olympic games in 2012, averaging team-lows of 3.7 points, 2.4 field goal attempts and 7.6 minutes per game.
While Davis didn’t play much at age 19, he “enjoyed the entire process,” getting a masterclass being among the likes of Bryant and James before going into his rookie season with the Pelicans. Davis averaged 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 28.8 minutes per game as a rookie during the 2012-13 season with New Orleans.
“I don’t think that I would be the player I am today without that experience,” Davis said. “Obviously, every guy has played summer league. But I never played summer league. That first year being around those guys I was around, Melo [Anthony], Kobe, Bron, [Andre] Iguodala, James Harden, Russ [Westbrook], KD [Durant], Kevin Love, all those guys… Seeing their work ethic, their professionalism, how they approached the game.
“Being able to see that and experience that kind of propelled [me] over other rookies, just being ready for the first game. I was talking to Chip Engelland [one of USA Basketball’s shooting coaches]. And he was in San Antonio [coaching] in ’12. He remembered me playing in the Olympics. And he never told me this [until recently] that when we first played [the Spurs] he saw that I wasn’t afraid. I was comfortable. And the comfortability comes from the 2012 Olympics, that month and a half, two months. Being a part of that and then going against San Antonio and Tim Duncan, I wasn’t star struck. Being around superstars for two months kind of took that away. I was able to come out and be comfortable.”
Puerto Rico forward Christopher Ortiz (left) defends United States forward Anthony Davis (right) during a Group C game of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade Pierre Mauroy on Aug. 3 in Lille, France.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Fast forward to 2024, Davis is now an NBA champion, a nine-time NBA All-Star and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Also in 2024, he re-joined USA Basketball’s national team to return to the Olympics. The 2014 FIBA World Cup gold medalist cited injuries as major reasons why he missed the Olympics in 2016 and 2020.
Davis averaged 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks in 17.8 minutes per game in wins over Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico. USA completed the preliminary stage 3-0 and faces Brazil in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night in Paris.
“We had three games to kind of just clean everything up,” Davis said after defeating Puerto Rico 104-83 on Saturday. “And now, it’s go time. We play Brazil. We have to get prepared for them. And we have to play mistake-free basketball and also be as perfect as possible knowing that these teams are also playing for gold and trying to compete.
“Every time that we step on the floor it’s somebody’s Game 7 of the [NBA] Finals. We have that mentality to come out and dominate.”