NBA New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis Has Arrived As NBA’s Third-Best Player

Fresh Videos

By @The_Only_Grubes

Anthony Davis

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The unibrow is strong in today’s NBA.

Not every player rocks one, but one of the best players in the league does. Anthony Davis is the NBA’s next true superstar, and his reign began Tuesday night in the New Orleans Pelicans‘ 101-84 win over the Orlando Magic.

Davis absolutely embarrassed the Magic, going for 26 points on 10-of-22 shooting, 17 rebounds, nine blocks, two assists and three steals. That is quite a stat line to start the season.

There are very few big men in the game who can match Davis’ skill set and athletic talents. Davis moves like a guard in transition, as he is fast for a big man and is able to handle the ball and create for himself off the dribble. In the post, he is strong enough to hold his own against other big men both offensively and defensively, as his large frame and long limbs help him to create matchup problems all over the place.

The biggest thing that is driving Davis right now is his willingness to do everything on the court. Davis is running the floor and getting to the basket on offense before sprinting back to block shots and play defense on the other end. He is doing it all right now, and no other big man is having the same impact on both ends of the floor as Davis.

Blake Griffin, Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge are evolving their games every day, but none of them can compare to Davis on the defensive end. Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki continue to evade retirement, but they simply are not athletic enough anymore to keep up with Davis.

So where does this leave Davis in terms of the NBA’s best? Well, there are two players who are still head and shoulders above everyone else: LeBron James and Kevin Durant. After that, things are a little more wide open. In a sport where size matters, however, no other player in the game can do what Davis is able to pound-for-pound. No other power forward or center has the ability to face-up, play with his back to the basket and be a true terror on defense.

Davis is going to keep averaging 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. He may even average a number of blocks per game that the NBA has not seen in years. Until someone else can step up and do what Davis does on both ends of the floor consistently, there is no doubting he is now the league’s third-best player.

Welcome to the land of superstars, Davis.

Nathan Grubel is an NBA writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @The_Only_Grubes, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on