Anthony Davis is widely considered an elite player, but casual NBA fans may not realize how much of a superstar the New Orleans Pelicans power forward truly is. That’s about to change.
While an injury to Omer Asik was going to edge Davis further into the spotlight, Tyreke Evans’ knee issue has thrust Davis center stage. According to John Reid of The Times Picayune, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry announced Wednesday that Evans will be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks.
That leaves the Pelicans without two starters and backup center Alexis Ajinca, while point guard Jrue Holiday will open the year on a minutes restriction. So, during the opening month of the season, Davis will be tasked with single-handedly propelling the organization through a brutal schedule.
New Orleans will take on the defending-champion Golden State Warriors, the Dallas Mavericks and the Atlanta Hawks twice each as well as the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers once.
And these are Davis’ teammates.
Now, if there’s any young player who’s fit for that hefty responsibility, it’s the 22-year-old. There’s a reason 86.2 percent of NBA general managers said they’d take Davis as the starting point of a franchise.
The reason? Davis is insanely good.
Davis is the preeminent reason New Orleans reached the postseason last year, and he’s fully capable of carrying the Pelicans through a murky Western Conference that boasts five of the NBA’s six best teams.
Last season, Davis racked up 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and a league-leading 2.9 blocks per game, shooting 53.5 percent from the field.
According to Basketball-Reference, the only other players in NBA history to record those numbers are Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Robinson, Bob McAdoo and Patrick Ewing. Each one of those NBA legends are enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Davis is destined for Springfield, too, and the first month of the 2015-16 season will be his national induction into superstardom. Make sure you don’t miss the ceremony.