With the addition of Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers have two of the game’s most talented players on the roster now heading into the 2019-20 NBA season.
Obviously, LeBron James will play a major role in everything for the Lakers on the court, but Davis gives them another player who can dominate any game on any night.
Though Davis is still only 26 years old, he is already a six-time All-Star player and three-time All-NBA First Teamer. There is nothing that Davis can’t do on the court and his new head coach Frank Vogel knows that and plans to take full advantage of it.
Vogel recently spoke with Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated and called Davis a major focal point of the Lakers while praising everything he brings to the table:
He’s a major focal point. He’s one of the best players in the league. He’ll be involved in every way that I can possibly use him. Offensively, he’s got the ability to play the four or the five, stretch the floor from the three-point line, post up, be a lob threat rolling through the basket. He literally does it all. He’ll be able to rebound and push on the break.
But Davis isn’t just an offensive force. He was an All-Defensive First Team selection in 2018 and has led the league in blocks three times. Vogel praised Davis’ defense and overall two-way game as one of a kind for players of his size:
Obviously, you’re going to be a major factor there. And then defensively, he can do it all as well. He’s got that athleticism, can guard on the perimeter, an elite rim protector, a rebounder. Just one of the best two-way players in the game. Usually when you talk about two-way players, you’re talking about wings, you know, the Paul George‘s and Kawhi Leonard‘s of the world. Avery Bradley for instance, another guy we have on our squad. But you don’t usually talk about guys like that at the power forward or center position, and that’s what we have in AD.
Davis’ skills make him a unique player in this league. A big man who can dominate in a traditional way such as rebounding, rim protection, and post scoring, but also fits the mold of the modern big with his ball-handling and shooting as well as unreal athleticism.
Even though the Lakers missed out on their other main target this offseason, it can’t be understated the level of talent the team did acquire in Davis. This is a franchise-altering player who — when teamed with James — gives the Lakers an almost unstoppable duo.
