When all seemed lost after DeMarcus Cousins' nightly averages of 25 points and 13 rebounds were sidelined due to a ruptured Achilles, Anthony Davis stepped up to do the work of two.
His numbers over the Pelicans' six-game win streak are unheard of. Davis is averaging 41.5 points, 15 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks while shooting 54 percent from the field, 39 percent from deep, and is attempting 12 free throws a game. His recent surge has put him back in the MVP race.
But this is nothing new. This is the only role Davis has ever known in professional basketball. For the 24-year-old, life doesn't extend much beyond carrying the perpetually depleted New Orleans Pelicans to an ill-fated playoff push. Thanks to his efforts, the Pelicans improbably sit fifth in the West ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
However futile, Davis proves himself to be a superstar in these moments. He elevates his game to compensate for every weakness. No playoff team should need 53 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks in 39 exhausting minutes from their superstar just for a routine home win over the lowly Phoenix Suns, but Davis just does what is necessary.
Now in his sixth season, Davis has steadily added new parts to his game: A tight crossover, a reliable outside shot, and the ability to pick out passes from the high elbow. Much of it was by necessity - he's learned to create his own offense since his teammates have been so unreliable. The best passer he's played with was one year of Greivis Vasquez, who once led the league in assists alongside Davis but is now out of the league entirely. He needed to learn how to do it on his own.
Davis manages to dominate on offense while also being an excellent defender, which is a testament to his endurance and focus. Most bigs don't have the stamina to be the focal point on both ends of the floor, but Davis can be the second-leading scorer while also being the third-best shot-blocker, all while staying out of foul trouble. For the fifth time in his career, he's averaging more blocks than fouls, all while playing more minutes than any other big.
While newcomers have crowded the conversation in recent years, Davis reigns supreme as the best big in the NBA. The likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, Nikola Jokic, and Joel Embiid make for healthy competition, but nobody does it on both ends like Davis. If they reach their potential, those players could one day become Davis, whereas the Brow is already on another level altogether.
Davis is succeeding in spite of the circumstances, but he shouldn't have to.
For someone who is universally rated as a top-10 player in the league, you don't hear much about the Pelicans big man. We know Porzingis had cornrows as a kid, that Jokic was a rollie-pollie soda addict as recently as two years ago, and that Embiid loves Shirley Temples, but somehow we know little about Davis beyond the brow. He is about as anonymous as it gets for being a superstar.
Much of that speaks to the market he's playing in. You get famous in this league by either playing in a spotlight city or by winning in the playoffs. Despite all of Davis' qualifications, the Pelicans fall well short on both accounts.
Davis deserves a much better set of teammates than what the Pelicans have made available. They threw good money after bad by committing nearly $30 million per year to Omer Asik, Alexis Ajinca, and Solomon Hill, painted themselves into a corner with the max deal for Jrue Holiday, and now face the unsavory choice of dishing out $150 million for an injured Cousins or letting Davis' best teammate walk for nothing after already dealing two lottery picks to get him last season.
Through bad asset management and even worse luck, the Pelicans have locked themselves into a mediocre supporting cast. Davis is doing his best, but a team can only get so far when they're constantly looking to the likes of Nikola Mirotic and Darius Miller to catch fire.
Other stars would be angling for a trade if they were in Davis' position.
Most players wouldn't want to waste their prime on a team that isn't anywhere close to championship contention. But Davis is the rare breed who continues to double down on his allegiance each time the organization gives him a reason to run.
Davis looks determined to follow in the footsteps of another uber-talented two-way 7-footer in Kevin Garnett, who stubbornly toiled away in Minnesota, carrying underwhelming teams to unbelievable results. Garnett was widely recognized as one of the two best bigs in the league alongside Tim Duncan, but he was better known as the martyr who chose loyalty to his own detriment.
By the good graces of karmic circumstances, Garnett eventually joined worthwhile teammates in a respectable organization and won a title in the dying years of his prime. That cemented his legacy, although there's always that lingering question of whether or not Garnett could have done more than win just one title if he didn't hang on for so long in Minnesota.
The Big Ticket himself admitted as much. Paul Pierce revealed at his jersey retirement ceremony that Garnett's only regret over an otherwise phenomenal career was that he didn't leave sooner. Those words got back to Davis, and the parallels weren't lost on him.
"When you hear that, it makes you think. Not gonna lie. It makes you think, because you’re wondering if you’re following in that same path," Davis said.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)
