Los Angeles Lakers: Did ESPN’s all-time NBA ranking get it right?
By Amaar Burton
Anthony Davis
ESPN rank: 45
Comparing active players to retired players is always complicated. Even more when the active player is only 27 years old and still in his prime.
How much do you consider potential for what they could do versus what they’ve already done?
Anthony Davis is one of the players on ESPN’s top 74 that presents this conundrum.
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The Lakers’ big man is arguably the most talented player in the world today, and he should be right in the league MVP discussion this season alongside LeBron and Giannis Antetokoumpo.
While Davis’ No. 45 ranking hasn’t been as controversial as Antetokoumpo’s No. 27 ranking, I think Davis is too high right now. I’d probably swap Davis for 59th-ranked Bob McAdoo.
Davis is great, he just hasn’t done enough yet to surpass names like McAdoo, Dominique Wilkins, Paul Pierce and Clyde Drexler.
Before coming to L.A. this season, Davis earned six All-Star, three All-NBA, and three All-Defensive nods with the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s led the league in blocks three times. He set an All-Star Game scoring record with 52 points in 2017.
However, Davis never led the Pelicans past the second round of the playoffs. He’s only been to the playoffs twice in his career.
This season — if it isn’t canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic — could be the one in which Davis either leads or plays a key role in helping his team to the NBA Finals and maybe a championship.
He doesn’t need to do that specifically to earn the 45th spot on an all-time ranking, but it would definitely help — along with simply putting in a few more years of work at an elite level.