Dueling Column: Why you should build your NBA team around Anthony Davis

Dueling columns

Kendall Howard

The year is 2012 and the University of Kentucky just won a National Championship led by a young kid from Chicago projected to go number one in the NBA Draft. This kid from Chicago goes on to take the NBA by storm with his defensive abilities and his scoring prowess. He becomes one of the first “new big men” in the league as he has the skills to bring the ball up the court, defend, shoot threes and flat out score. He led a young team to a playoff and is in MVP conversation every year. This young kid from Chicago is Anthony Davis.

Now with all that being said, why wouldn’t you build a team around Anthony Davis? The man low-key transcended the game of basketball when it comes to today’s version of big man.

Think about it. Before Anthony Davis, there were very few, if any, big men that could do the things he does.

Let’s go through the numbers. Standing at 6-10, weighing in at 253 pounds, Davis is averaging in his career 23.2 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks, and so far since the Demarcus Cousins injury, he is averaging 40 points.

Not that long ago, Davis finished with 41 points (with 31 in the second half), 13 rebounds and three blocks. That is insane, especially for a big man that isn’t just playing back to the basket basketball. He’s a five-time NBA All-Star, two-time regular season leader in blocks, two-time All-NBA, two-time All-Defensive, 2012-13 Rookie of the Year and 2017 NBA All-Star MVP. This man is only in his fifth season as an NBA player, just think about that.

There’s been talk for recent years that Davis could be the one to surpass LeBron and become the best basketball player in the world. Well, why hasn’t he? The downfall to Davis is his injuries.

Davis is known for getting injured multiple times in a season, missing some stretches of it that prevent him from becoming season MVP and adding more wins to earn a playoff spot. Last season, the New Orleans Pelicans traded for Demarcus Cousins to get Davis some help, but he just went down with a season-ending injury. But don’t let this scare you because Davis is still a bad man on the court.

So, why should you build your team around Anthony Davis?

Anthony Davis is a game-changer and the best player to start a team around.