NBA: Anthony Davis’ Top 3 Games of 2013-14

It’s one of the most recognizable nicknames in the entire NBA — “The Unibrow” — and it belongs to Anthony Davis, who has grown into one of the league’s best power forwards after just two seasons.

Davis was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 2013 and made the All-Star Game last year with a sensational sophomore season, averaging 20.8 points, 10 rebounds, and leading the league with 2.8 blocked shots per game. He finished with the league’s fourth highest PER (from ESPN) at just 21 years of age, behind Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Kevin Love.

This summer, he’s been busy as the starting big man for Team USA as they compete in the FIBA World Cup.

With training camps starting up at the end of the month and Davis primed to take a huge leap forward in his early career, here’s a review of his top three games from last season.

March 16 vs. Boston Celtics- 40 points, 21 rebounds, three assists, three steals, 12-12 FT

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The New Orleans Pelicans’ win in overtime over Boston was easily the best game of Davis’ early career as he scored a career-high 40 points against a frontcourt who was not up to the challenge. The combined efforts of

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did little to stop Davis from getting easy layups in transition, where he simply beat them down the court play after play.

When the Celtics’ big men defended him one-on-one, Davis would either shoot over the top of them with his length or put his head down and attack the rim like a 6-foot-11 small forward and finish with a quick floater. Defensively, Davis only finished with three blocks but his presence altered many other shots when players like Jeff Green attempted to finish inside.

Down the stretch, it was Davis who hit the clutch foul line jumper with 1.1 seconds left to put the Pelicans up two, but a miraculous corner shot by Humphries eventually sent the game to overtime. The Pelicans prevailed with a 121-120 win, largely because Davis demonstrably was the best player on the court.

Nov. 8 vs. Los Angeles Lakers- 32 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks, three assists

This was a game in which the young Davis demonstrated his ability to dominate on the defensive side of the ball and quickly turn the Pelicans defense into easy offense. Four of his six blocks were against Pau Gasol, who was timid trying to shoot over his length and if you go up soft against him, Davis will send shots into the stands.

The two-time champion Gasol learned that the hard way.

For the Lakers, it was a nightmare having Chris Kaman chase Davis coming off down screens set by Jason Smith where easy jumpers were knocked down. The plan for the Pelicans was to keep Davis on the move in the full court and half court, and he ended up getting whatever shots he wanted.

He was a cleanup man in transition and extremely active on the offensive boards. Davis even started getting MVP chants from the home crowd in an overpowering two-way performance.

Jan. 26 vs. Orlando Magic- 22 points, 19 rebounds, seven blocks, three assists, two steals

Davis finished just three blocks short of his first career triple-double showcasing his all-around versatility to impact the game in more ways than just scoring. Magic forward Tobias Harris looked helpless at times when Davis defended him as he was unable to shoot over his length or turn the corner when he put the ball on the floor.

How many big men in the league can consistently close out perimeter players at the 3-point line? Davis may be one of the few to do so, evidenced by a few shots he sent into the stands when the Magic guards attempted to launch from down town.

Not only was Davis a defensive threat on the perimeter by altering shots, he protected the rim as well. He got put back dunks by being in the right position on missed shots with a quick first jump that the Magic big men couldn’t contest with.

Though he’s long and frail, he still demonstrated the ability to take on contact in the pick and roll and finish at the rim or draw the foul. To top it off, Davis put Glen Davis on a poster in what might have been the dunk of the year.