How many big men have ever been better than Anthony Davis when he’s at his best? In this enhanced segment from the Thinking Basketball podcast, Ben and Cody break down the Anthony Davis’s incredible playoff performances in 2020, 2023 and the NBA Cup, and weigh those against his inconsistent play at other times in the regular season and even the postseason.
–Full episode–
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fLgQKSBam8
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3n4BmrJjYITBfaz8oE5WY3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/239-anthony-daviss-weird-peak-the-end-of-small-ball/id1428290303?i=1000638246187
Support at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Basketball-Ben-Taylor/dp/1532968175
Podcast: https://player.fm/series/thinking-basketball or at https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ben-taylor/thinking-basketball-podcast
Website: https://www.backpicks.com
Twitter: @elgee35
Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.
Stats courtesy:
http://www.pbpstats.com @bballport
https://www.basketball-reference.com
https://stats.nba.com
—–
Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.
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34 Comments
I truly believe at his best AD is truly a Top 5 player in the game of basketball
Him getting leaner again has helped a ton. I felt all that extra muscle he built contributed to the ticky-tack injuries he was susceptible to the past few seasons.
In a high stakes setting, Davis is a DPOY level player. His performance in the In-Season Tournament game final against Indiana was exceptional. Think back to the 2020 championship run as well.
AD this season is averaging 23 and 13 on great efficiency and has played most of not all games this Season. He could be more consistent for sure but it’s a little bit overblown IMO. The media destroyed people’s perception on AD. They think he’s more injury prone then Kawhi and PG when he’s played more games then them and think he’s extremely inconsistent when he’s been playing wry well this season.
Peak AD is at the same level of peak Giannis or peak LeBron or peak Jokic in terms of impact on the game.
it's the injuries that make him inconsistent. When he gets in a rhythm bro is absolutely unstoppable because his shot starts falling making his offensive game crazy good, plus his goat level defense making him a top 5 player in this league imo
IMO we really saw peak AD for a 27 game stretch from Feb 10-Apr 11 2018
20-7
31.0 PPG (1st)
12.1 RPG (6th)
2.1 APG
2.1 SPG (2nd)
3.4 BPG (1st)
53 FG%
34 3PT%
84 FT%
You could also say peak AD made an appearance 2 more times: the 2020 playoffs where AD averaged 28-10-4 on 57-38-83 splits, and for about a month in November 2022 where he averaged 32-14-3-2 on 64 FG%
AD is the perfect playoff scheme player, his versatility allows him to become a sort of Swiss Army knife. He has the length to play big, the agility to switch and defend guards, the IQ to make the right play and every other aspect in between. I think this is why he’s had success in all the different stages, from high school, to NCAA to now NBA.
I mean he’s dominant when he plays against small teams and struggles against teams with good to great bigs. This isn’t that complicated really.
there aren't 20 guys that peaked higher than AD in the history of basketball
The best parts of kg mixed with the worst parts of bill Walton
Play off D!!! Lmao
😴😴😴🥱🥱
I think of it as AD is the best small ball big in the league and maybe of all time. If you match his size or play smaller in the middle, he eats a team alive offensively and defensively and on the boards. JJJ, Myles Turner, etc of the world? They have no chance. AD is either bigger overall or the same size/weight + bigger wingspan and better hand eye coordination. Against the bigger centers, he comes down to earth.
There's probably also the health factor in that he's beat up a lot and plays through a lot of the smaller injuries so he's not close to peak conditioning and form for big stretches of seasons.
He's so good when he's good lol. LeBron's most talented teammate even over 2011 Wade imo.
AD is like if Kevin Garnett had the mind of Tobias Harris
is he the opposite of playoff p?
Dude had a monster game and you're asking if he has one of the greatest peaks ever? No. Hell no. Please stop.
He's not even the best lob finisher in LA the last 10 years. Is this pod called "Recency Bias"?
when Ad is going for the kill hes top 5 in the league. his impact on defense is mostly always there,when he ges for the kill on both ends,good luck
The fact is AD is a real MVP-calibre player. Hardly do we see any other players of his same size are gifted with versatility and dominance on both ends of the floor. Aside from some day-to-davis spells, he’s a real formidable matchup agaisnt the likes of Giannis, Embiid, even Jokic. And his MVP calibre was undisputedly proven through his top 3 MVP nominees szn at Pels, and the 2020 bubble chips also greatly flattered his capability since. But I guess due to fans’ lofty expectations on him since his previous accolades and disruptive media, people are misled with the deserved perception on himself. Anw, AD is AD, real beast, and gonna be the Lakers franchise after Lebron retired
this is the idealized version of AD in favorable matchups and looking only at his strengths and not at how like… he needs a top3 playmaker and passer ever, only ever did this in a much less pressured enviroment in the bubble, and frequently struggles against elite bigs
7:16 YUUUPP which is why i'm always annpoyed when people say "jokic swept the lakers" no no no, ammal was the best player in that series. they dealt with him pretty good actually.
One of the problems with his offensive inconsistency is he's like big men of the past and is reliant on getting fed the ball by his teammates. Multiple times this season he dominates the first half on pace for 30 or 40+ and takes single digit shot attempts in the second half which is unacceptable. Say what you will about D'Lo but only him and LeBron are capable of giving him the ball on a consistent basis.
Unfortunately, the Lakers just announced that Anthony Davis will be out for the remainder of the 2023/2024 season after watching a video of Victor Wembanyama turn his ankle attempting to save a loose ball from going out of bounds and get back up like it was nothing.
Some of the best defense you've ever seen…..😏
Is he only dominant when playing against mismatches? Cause when he played denver last year Joker had his way with him like a napkin after sloppy joes
Yeah, so y’all need to be covering Joel Embiid, he is so underrated it’s ridiculous. Even JJ Redick mentioned something about him being underrated.
Healthy AD was unstoppable
Like Paul George in his mvp year
Still waiting on the Derrick White video…advanced stats say he’s a top 20 it’s a tragedy you’ve never broken him down
Rudy gobert is one of the most underrated players and defenders oat. I can guarantee that if he had his skill in a diff time frame (like in the 90s) he would be looked at as one of the better or even best players of that era. His iq mixed in with his rebounding and all time shot blocking skills are so underrated its not even funny.
What a great title
Bro is delicate. A player with his height, his wingspan and his muscles shouldn't be stopped by almost anyone.
I don't understand why the Lakers don't just put him at power forward with a serviceable center in the lineup. Is it a spacing issue? Is he historically better as a small ball five? He clearly doesn't want to be a center physically or mentally so what's the deal?