The Los Angeles Lakers’ decision to sign star big man Anthony Davis to a three-year, $177.13 million contract extension this past summer was not terribly surprising.
Davis put up a stellar 2022-23 campaign en route to helping the Lakers to a surprise appearance in the Western Conference Finals.
The question moving forward is whether Davis can improve his all-around game while remaining healthy. Apparently, that’s what Los Angeles is asking of him heading into the 2023-24 season.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham noted recently that he is pushing for the All-Star to attempt an average of six three-pointers per game this coming season. That’s not a typo. Six.
“I want him, if he can–I know he won’t do it, but maybe he’ll shock me–but I’ve requested to see six three-point attempts a game,” Ham said of Anthony Davis on Tuesday, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Three per half, at least. I wouldn’t put that on him if I didn’t think he was capable”
To put this into perspective, Davis averaged just 1.3 three-point attempts a season ago. He hit on a mere 26% of his shots from distance. This came after he shot just 19% from three-point range during the 2021-22 season. Davis is a mere 30% shooter from long range while averaging 1.58 attempts throughout his career.
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Anthony Davis stats (2022-23): 25.9 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 56% shooting
As for whether he’s open to expanding his game to the perimeter, Davis made it clear during Lakers media day that it’s one of his primary goals.
“Just getting back to being a threat at all three levels. Not sure where it’s at until we get into practices and games. Anybody can shoot in workouts and make shots when there’s no pressure on them.”
Anthony Davis to reporters earlier in October
It’s not unheard of for big men of Davis’ ilk to expand their offensive game later in their careers. Chicago Bulls All-Star Nikola Vučević is the most-obvious example of this.
Vučević attempted all of 101 three-point attempts in his first six seasons with the Orlando Magic. He’s put up north of 1,100 over the past three seasons, hitting on 36% of those attempts.
If Davis is able to accomplish this feat while hitting at a relatively high clip, it’s going to be an absolute boon for the Lakers. Whether that happens remains to be seen. But it’s something to think about.