This article is the cover story of the current issue of HOOP.
In road city after road city, reporters converge on Anthony Davis’ locker to ask a series of similar questions: What does it feel like to be mentioned as one of the NBA’s elite players, in the company of greats such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant, at age 21? What do you think about posting a Player Efficiency Rating that’s on pace to break Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time record? How do you react to people saying you’re a frontrunner for MVP this season?
Although he usually handles it with the grace of a 15-year veteran, the talk can make Davis a bit uneasy. He’d much rather discuss another topic, like teammate Ryan Anderson’s three-point shooting. Or maybe how Tyreke Evans has set Davis up for countless alley oops this season. Or how unheralded New Orleans forward Dante Cunningham sparks the Pelicans with his defense and hustle. Anything besides what everyone else seems to want to talk about: Davis’ incredible rise to superstardom in Year 3 of his NBA career.
“He doesn’t want to do anything that separates himself from the rest of the team,” explains Anderson, a teammate for each of Davis’ three pro seasons. “He doesn’t want to be looked at any differently. I’ve been around players that had a ton of success, and they want to be looked at in a certain light, or they want to walk into practice and have everybody stare at them and say, ‘That’s him (The Man).’ Or they play 42 minutes in a game and their teammates think, ‘Well obviously he’s not going to practice tomorrow.’ Anthony would never do that. He’s going to be the first guy shooting on the court, and he’s going to come in and practice, just like everybody else.”
“It’s a team game,” Davis explains of his reticence to focus on himself. “You’re not going to win championships or any games by yourself. So my biggest thing is, it’s always about the team. And it is kind of uncomfortable when you’re sitting there talking about yourself, saying ‘Oh, I did this or I did that.’ It’s uncomfortable – for me at least. (Teammates) do a lot for me. They cover up my mistakes, to make me look good. At the end of the day, I give them all the praise and glory that I can give them. They help me become a better player.”
In recent years, it’s been a trend among some of the NBA’s megastars to pursue control of all of the major aspects of their existence: They want a max contract. They need to play with a specific set of teammates. They’d prefer a coach of their choosing. And they’d like to do all of it in a city to their liking. Anderson views the mature-beyond-his-years Davis’ perspective as the polar opposite.
“He’s not really searching for anything,” Anderson says. “He just wants to play well, have fun and play basketball. I admire that, in a world that’s always wanting more. It seems like superstars always want more. I can’t see him ever… (in) any situation that brings negative attention toward him, any unneeded attention. And that’s so different to see. Guys are trying to be the coach, or you see superstars trying to tell the coach what to do.
“The first word I use to describe Anthony is humble. To be 21 years old and in a conversation as one of the best players in the NBA, or the best, to have so much attention through college and being the No. 1 pick in the draft and all this now, to remain the same guy is really admirable. Those are the things I look out for and the things I really notice. He’s stayed the same guy. He’s just a humble, great, real genuine guy. He just cares. He’s done some things for me that I really appreciate.”
Anderson explains that after the most frightening incident of the seven-year forward’s basketball career – on Jan. 3, 2014, he collided with Celtics forward Gerald Wallace and ended up in a Boston hospital with a season-ending neck injury – Davis was the first teammate to visit Anderson at his home in the New Orleans suburbs. It’s a similar story to one told by Paul George in August; Davis checked in on George in a Las Vegas hospital immediately after George broke his leg in a team scrimmage.
“After I came back home from Boston, Anthony was the first guy to drive over to my house, without calling me or telling me,” Anderson says, admiringly. “He knew that I’d be home. He came over – my family was there – and just sat with me and hung out with me, asked how I was doing, how I was feeling, because he knew it was a tough thing for me to go through. Obviously he’s such a busy guy, with more responsibilities (off the court) than we’ll probably ever realize, so to do that meant probably far more than he would ever imagine. Those are the things I will remember most about (playing with) Anthony. He’s had a million dunks, and in his career he’s going to have triple-doubles, blocks, amazing stats, but the things I’m going to remember most are him just being Anthony, being there for people he cares about.”
A throng of fans has gathered outside a Chicago hotel to greet one of their hometown heroes, even if he’s in town on a frigid late-December night to try to beat their beloved Bulls. Davis, a proud native of the Windy City, dutifully signs autographs for dozens of fans, but he’s also got another task in mind that he’s been eagerly awaiting. As Pelicans players approach the team bus nearby that’s going to whisk them to the United Center, Davis stands nearby, handing each player a box containing brand-new headphones, two days after Christmas.
“He’s always making sure he’s taking care of his teammates and thinking about himself last, which is the quality of a great leader,” says guard Jimmer Fredette, in his first year with New Orleans. “He’s just a great kid, level-headed, a hard worker. He’s a guy you want to be teammates with. He’s an unselfish superstar. He’s great off the court, joking around with guys, and has great relationships with guys.”
“I think he’s a natural leader,” Pelicans forward Luke Babbitt says. “He’s gotten us together for team dinners. He’s been outspoken at times when we need it. That’s just another sign of what a great player he is, that he takes that on at such a young age. That stuff is almost as valuable as what he does on the court.”
What he’s been doing on the hardwood is virtually unprecedented in NBA history. During one second-half stretch of last season, Davis not only cemented himself as New Orleans’ franchise player, but also as one of the league’s bona fide stars. Shortly after making his NBA All-Star debut in February, Davis compiled a 10-game March stretch in which he averaged 29.8 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. He followed that up in ’14-15 with a fantastic first half of the regular season, ranking in the league’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding and blocks (he was on pace to top the NBA in rejections for a second straight time).
Despite a steady stream of accolades that have resulted from his on-court accomplishments, Davis has maintained the approach that he wants to be treated like everyone else on New Orleans’ roster.
“It’s really a testament to his character,” Anderson says. “His ability to just get along with everybody is impressive. He’s the type of guy who strives for greatness, but off the court, he’s just Anthony. His ability to separate that is pretty awesome.”
“He’s the ultimate pro, and he’s only 21,” says Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday, shaking his head at how quickly that’s happened. “He knows that with his talents and abilities comes a lot of benefits, and he shares them with his teammates. Off the court, he’s just a regular person. I don’t think he takes the fame and all that to his head. He’s aware of how good he is, but that doesn’t get to him. That’s awesome to see.”
Monty Williams knows it’s coming. When the Pelicans head coach meets with the media prior to every New Orleans game, someone invariably wonders, “Why has Anthony Davis improved so rapidly?” Williams has a standard answer that gets right to the heart of the question: “It’s because he’s worked so hard on his game. He’s put in the time to become a better player. When you do that, you tend to see the rewards.”
Indeed, New Orleans’ coaches and players are more familiar than anyone with Davis’ drive to transform himself on the court. After struggling to consistently make perimeter shots as a rookie, he quickly became a dangerous threat from 18 to 20 feet. After being pushed around some as a 19-year-old fresh off a national championship at Kentucky, Davis spent countless hours in the weight room with Pelicans assistant coach/director of player development Carlos Daniel. He’s added roughly 20 pounds since entering the NBA, mostly muscle, allowing him to hold his ground much better and withstand contact in the paint.
“Coming into his rookie season, I don’t want to say it overwhelmed him, but it came fast and quick,” Daniel says of the challenge a spindly 220-pound Davis faced going up against bigger and stronger frontcourt players. “He knew at that point, ‘You know what? I have somewhere to go, and I can’t mess around with the process.’ He knew he had to get stronger and better and took the time to do it. It made a difference.
“His body is totally different from the body he came into the league with. For him to seamlessly add the new strength and the new muscle, and apply it to his game, that is a skill. Some guys over time have gained weight or muscle, but it’s had a negative effect on their game. Anthony knew there needed to be a change. And when you accept that there needs to be a change, you’re more open to the process. When he opened himself up to the process (of adding muscle and strength), the benefits are just a product of that. It’s more a testament to who he is as a young man than anything else.”
Davis has also profited greatly from participating in USA Basketball for three straight summers, including winning gold medals at the 2012 Olympics and the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Seeing how the NBA’s premier players practice and prepare was invaluable.
Davis: “It was huge. Being able to play with those guys, some of the best players, was a great honor. I had tons of fun with it. It made me see the floor differently, see myself as a player differently, see the League differently. Those guys helped me through it all.”
“I saw how highly motivated he was throughout the entire summer,” Bulls head coach and USA assistant coach Tom Thibodeau says. “The way he practiced, the way he worked with Monty before and after practice, the way he worked with their strength coach (Daniel). You could see how important it was to him. And the way he played with Team USA. I thought he was phenomenal last (season), but he was even better in the summer.”
Pelicans assistant coach Kevin Hanson, a 6-foot-10 former post player overseas, has taken a literal hands-on approach in working with Davis, frequently getting out on the floor to teach low-post moves in the paint and counters to opponents’ defensive strategies. It’s helped Davis improve from averaging 13.5 points as a rookie to top-five NBA scorer status this season.
“It’s all confidence,” Hanson says. “Confidence in the work he’s put in, confidence in his shot, confidence in his individual moves, recognizing defenses. There’s a confidence about him now that he didn’t have before. It’s pretty simple. Because he’s the best player on the floor – and now he’s really starting to recognize that.”
The ingredients are all there: World-class natural talent. A skill set aided by the fact that he was still a guard prior to a well-documented growth spurt in high school. A determined work ethic praised by everyone around him. The most frightening thing about Davis’ future? His birth certificate, which indicates a 22nd birthday on March 11.
“I’m impressed at how quickly he’s adapted and done some things in this league at such a young age,” Daniel says. “Obviously it’s scary to say, but the kid is going to get better. There’s ebb and flow to this League, and the League adjusts to you. So how do you gauge a player in any sport? Well, what do they do when the League catches up to them? Great players, they change something and force the League to catch up to them again. I think as his first three years come to an end, he’s going to do something that makes the League have to catch up to him again. That’s what makes him special. He has the ability to do that.”
“Growing up, he was a guard. To characterize him as a center (now) might be a mistake, or as a power forward, because he’s a basketball player,” Thibodeau says. “He’s got great skills – he can shoot, he can pass, he can post, put it on the floor, run the floor, has great hands, can make plays. And he’s real hungry. That’s probably the biggest thing. He’s very intelligent, driven. Those type of guys, you combine that with his overall talent, it’s scary what he’s going to become.”