Anthony Davis was named in the NBA’s 75th anniversary team and played a critical role in the Lakers’ title run in 2020. His legacy is secured.
Yet, recent history suggests that the Lakers big man is having a tough time matching up against the NBA’s elite big men.
With the Lakers’ loss to the Sacramento Kings on February 13, Davis’ career head-to-head record against Domantas Sabonis worsened to 0-10.
After the game, Davis faced criticism from many ex-players and analysts for his performance, especially for being out-rebounded 19-10 by Sabonis.
“Sabonis is not intimated by AD at all. He goes at him,” Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe said on his “Nightcap” podcast.
Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, Sharpe’s co-host, spoke further to Sabonis raising his level of play against Davis.
“Sabonis plays against AD like AD owes him money,” Arenas said. “He owes that man something, because every time he sees AD’s face, he [laughs] just goes off.”
Arenas believes Davis, a candidate to win the 2023-24 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, most likely blew his chances to win the award with his recent outing.
“You’re a top defensive player, and you got a guy coming at your head like you his lunch money out there.”
Elsewhere Lakers great James Worthy questioned Davis’ energy level while matching up against Sabonis.
“[Sabonis] is a big and strong guy and you have to be ready for that,” Worthy said on Spectrum SportsNet. “I see that AD had 22 and 10 but I don’t remember that.”
Struggles Against Other Elite Bigs
Davis hasn’t fared better against Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic in recent years, either. The Lakers star is 1-7 in career match-ups against Embiid since their first meeting in Dec. 2016.
Against Jokic, Davis has gone 14-18 for his career, but most of those wins came years before the Serb ascended to the level of consensus best player in the NBA. Since the Nuggets lost to the Lakers in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, they’ve had their number. Jokic and the Nuggets have won their last seven match-ups, including the 4-0 series sweep in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Davis, though, isn’t concerned by all the criticism.
“It doesn’t matter to me. I’m all about the team,” Davis told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin about Sabonis winning their head-to-head battles.
Should Anthony Davis play Power Forward Instead?
In fairness to Davis, he’s never been keen to play the center position, which requires banging with 250-plus-pound bigs on a nightly basis. Davis has always been more of a face-up big man in the same vein as Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace. He isn’t one of those burly bigs who relies on strength for positioning and rebounding.
Before the start of the 2023-24 season, an ESPN report suggested that the Lakers signed the likes of Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood with hopes of Davis playing the 5 position. However, Lakers coach Darvin Ham has continued to start Davis at center.
“I like playing the 4. I’m not even going to sugarcoat it. I like playing the 4,” Davis told the Los Angeles Times in July 2019. “I don’t really like playing the 5. If it comes down to it, coach, and you need me to play the 5, then I’ll play the 5.”
Davis played power forward when the Lakers won the championship in 2020, with veteran bigs Dwight Howard and Javale McGee slotting in at center. Over the past few years, Davis has adjusted to the new norm of playing the 5, especially while going up against smaller teams that utilize centers living on the perimeter. That said, the Jokic’s and Embiid’s of the world and bringing back the “big” men. And AD’s out of luck.
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