NBA MVP race looks to be wide open in reshuffled league hierarchy

Anthony Davis was the big piece in one of this offseason’s defining trades, going from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal that involved eight players, four draft picks and $2.1 million in cash.

Davis has the pedigree to be in the MVP discussion and if the Lakers make the leap that many are predicting, that buzz will increase.

Provided Davis stays healthy. While not to the extent of the aforementioned Joel Embiid, the one ability Davis has lacked in his career is availability, missing at least seven games every season in his seven-year career and topping the 70-game mark just twice.

Last season, he appeared in 56 games in a disjointed campaign with the slumping Pelicans, who rested him often after his very public trade request. Davis put up 25.9 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.6 steals in 33.0 minutes per game, shooting 51.7 percent overall and 33.1 percent on 2.6 3-point attempts per game.

So Davis definitely has the numbers for an MVP run.

One factor that could hurt Davis as an MVP candidate is a split-vote scenario with teammate LeBron James, but in the new age of dynamic NBA duos, that sort of thing is hard to avoid.

A serious MVP candidacy by Davis hinges on the Lakers improving as expected and him staying healthy enough to get into enough games to be a legitimate contender.