NBA Player Power Rankings: Kevin Durant Surpassing LeBron?
7. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Last Rank: No. 6
Position: Power Forward
Age: 22
Slash Line: .490/.296/.766
Season Averages: 35.5 MPG, 23.0 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.2 ORPG, 1.9 APG, 2.4 BPG, 1.3 SPG
Based on talent alone, one could make a case that Anthony Davis is already the best player in the NBA. There’s a lot more that goes into it than talent, but Davis is a dominant interior defender who scores and rebounds at Top 10 levels while possessing the shooting range and ball-handling ability to break teams down.
It’s been a rough season for the New Orleans Pelicans, but between Davis’ raw ability, stunning statistics, and undeniable influence, he’s clearly a Top 10 player.
The fact that Davis is this good at such a young age is a major reason why most have crowned him as the next best player in the NBA. He’ll need to stay healthy and polish his game in order to achieve such a prestigious status, but he’s well on his way.
In the meantime, all eyes are on Davis as the underachieving Pelicans sit just 5.0 games back of the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
Davis is on pace to become the first player to average at least 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 1.0 steal in three consecutive seasons since Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson. That duo achieved the feat in far more than three straight campaigns, but most recently rattled off those insane numbers in 1995-96.
20 years later, Davis has a chance to write his name in statistical ink alongside those two titans of the sport.
Next: The Franchise Record-Holder