Los Angeles Lakers: The 5 best bets to be Anthony Davis stoppers

4. Rudy Gobert

A big man can only create so much space on his jumper and Davis, guard skills and all, is no exception. That he converts at the rate he does has a lot to do with undersized individual matchups who can’t possibly hope to get a decent hand in his face.

At 7’1” with a 7’9” wingspan, Rudy Gobert doesn’t have that problem. Those lanky arms can actually help make up for a lack of foot speed, allowing him to drop a couple of steps deeper into the paint to play for the drive without sacrificing the quality of contents on a potential jumper.

Should Davis find his way into the paint, he’d be venturing into the area that’s helped Gobert claim back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2018 and 2019. Opponents shot 12.7 percent worse when guarded by the Stifle Tower within six feet of the basket, tops in the NBA this past season.

At a time where players are asked to cover more ground than ever, Gobert doesn’t do much of his work outside the paint at either end. That’s hardly the personnel you’d use to guard Anthony Davis, but Gobert has what to use to stay afloat.