Anthony Davis
Teams
New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans - 2012-19
Los Angeles Lakers - 2019-present
Playoffs
Appearances - 4 (2015,2018,2020,2021)
Conference Finals - 1 (2020)
NBA Finals - 1 (2020)
Championships - 1 (2020)
Awards and Honors
All-NBA First Team - 4 (2015,2017,2018,2020)
All-NBA Second Team - 0 (2015,2017,2020)
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Blocks Per Game - #15
Points Per Game - #23
Total Blocks - #51
Rebounds Per Game - #55
Field Goal Percentage - #89
League Leads
Blocks Per Game (#1-2014,2015,2018, #2-2017, #3-2020, #4-2016)
Total Blocks (#1-2015,2018, #3-2014,2017,2020)
Points Per Game (#2-2018, #4-2015,2017)
Total Points (#3-2018, #4-2017)
Total Rebounds (#5-2018)
Rebounds Per Game (#5-2018)
Anthony Davis had an incredible year in 2012. He was name the College Player of the Year, then led Kentucky to the National Championship, where he was named Most Outstanding Player, then he was the #1 overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets, and then he was picked to play on the Olympic Team that won the gold medal in London.
He had a solid rookie year, with averages of 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds, but lost the Rookie of the year award to Damian Lillard. The next season he made the jump to superstar, averaging 20.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, and a league-leading 2.8 blocks per game.
The next year he was even better, boosting his scoring to 24.4 per game and leading the league in blocks for the second year in a row. He was also named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career, and led the Pelicans to the playoffs, where they were swept in the first round despite Davis averaging 31 points and 11 rebounds per game.
His next season ended early because of injuries to his shoulder and his knee, but he came back better than ever the next year, putting up 28 points per game and 11.8 rebounds, and he broke the All-Star Game scoring record by putting up 52 points, beating Wilt Chamberlain's old record of 42, and was easily named the MVP of that game. Even though his team missed the playoffs, he was still named to the All-NBA First Team again.
The next year he had the best regular season of his career so far. He set a new career-high with 28.1 points, along with 11.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks, which led the league for the third time in his career. He also made the All-NBA Team once again, and was able to win a playoff series for the first time as well.
He requested a trade from New Orleans in the middle of the next season, and when he wasn't dealt before the trade deadline, the Pelicans decided to play him in a more limited role for the rest of the season, but he was still among the best players in the league still. After the season, he got his wish, getting traded to the Lakers to join LeBron James.
In his first season with LA, he made the All-NBA First Team for the 4th time, and the season ended just the way he had hoped when he was traded, with him providing LeBron James with the second star needed to win an NBA title. That win made Davis the only player ever to win an NBA title, NCAA title, Olympic gold medal, and FIBA gold medal.
Last season, Davis missed 30 games due to calf and heel injuries, by far the longest absence of his career, and though he returned for the playoffs, he suffered a groin injury that pretty much ended his season in the middle of Game 4 of the first round.
Davis is the second-youngest player on this list, at only 28 years old, but he has already done a lot in his career. He has led the league in blocks 3 times, scored over 20 points per game 8 times in 9 seasons, and been the second-best player on an NBA Champion. He has suffered a lot of injuries in his career, but very few that held him out for any significant amount of time, and with many more years of his prime yet to come, he should find himself much higher in future editions of this list of the greatest players of all time.
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