Anthony Davis: Best Big-Man Numbers Since Hakeem Olajuwon
Is Anthony Davis MVP of the NBA in 2014-15? He certainly is as far as big men go, with numbers unseen in nearly 20 years.
On Wednesday night Anthony Davis put up 32 points and 12 rebounds for his league-leading 21st double-double of the season. He also added four blocks and an assist while shooting 15-for-24 from the field. Davis’ performance was just one of many spectacular stat lines the 21-year-old has posted so far this year.
It’s hard to argue against Davis as a potential MVP candidate for the New Orleans Pelicans this season. His numbers are far and away the best of any big man in the league. Along with the double-doubles, Davis is also at or near the top in a wide variety of other statistical categories.
He’s tied for third in the NBA in scoring with 23.9 points per game. His 10.5 rebounding average is tied for eighth highest, while his .568 field goal percentage is sixth overall. Davis’ 2.9 blocks per contests is easily the best in the league. He’s also among the top 20 in steals at 1.6 per game.
The combination of blocks and steals is a very rare feat on its own–nobody has averaged at least 2.9 blocks and 1.6 steals since Andrei Kirilenko in 2004-05.
Davis is also at his best when it matters the most:
Anthony Davis is shooting 90% in clutch situations this year and has 0 TOs: http://t.co/NlA0WUM3iL (via @BenGolliver) pic.twitter.com/Nk8zONlM8G
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) January 7, 2015
From Sports Illustrated‘s Ben Golliver in the article linked above:
"How fantastic is Davis? He’s so fantastic that he’s an MVP candidate and the NBA’s leader in Player Efficiency Rating even though he is – by far – the most underutilized late-game weapon in the NBA today. Davis is the atomic bomb of late-game weapons, really, as his numbers annihilate the competition. Most impressive: his league-leading 1.81 points per possession in the clutch is leaps, and leaps, and leaps and bounds ahead of [Danny] Green, who ranks second at 1.39. …To recap: in clutch situations, Davis makes nearly every shot he takes, he rebounds in volume, he rarely makes mistakes, and he produces points at a rate that makes him look like a fully-grown man competing against sixth graders. Come to think of it, “atomic bomb” might actually be underselling his impact."
The fact that Davis is doing all of this at just 21 years of age is somewhat mind-boggling. He’s the first player 21 or under to score 23 points per game since Kevin Durant in 2009-10. Davis is also one of just four players in NBA history to average 23 points and 10 rebounds before turning 22 years old, along with Shaquille O’Neal, Terry Cummings and Rick Barry.
However, it’s the combination of stats across the board that makes Davis’ 2014-15 season one for the ages. Just three NBA players have ever averaged at least 23 points, 10 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals. Should Davis keep it up, he’ll join a very exclusive club who’s only other members are Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Olajuwon was the last to do it in 1995-96. He was also the youngest of the three to pull it off, first accomplishing the feat as a 23-year-old in 1985-86.
Davis still has two years to go before reaching that age. It’s scary to think of what he might become.