By: Brendan Garrity

Editor: Kevin Furlong

Atop the NBA’s hierarchy sit LeBron James and Kevin Durant. How long will it be until Anthony Davis joins them?

Considering the phenom turned 21 only eight months ago, the initial reaction would be to assume it would take years for Davis’ name to be placed on the pedestal James and Durant reside on. But it might not be as far off as it seems. ESPN’s 2014-15 NBA season preview ranked Davis as the league’s third best player. Through the first six games of his third NBA season, “The Brow” is averaging an astonishing 25 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks each night. Granted it’s a very small sample size to work with, the numbers are insane.

Many people have tried creating a comparison for Davis. Some liken him to Tim Duncan, and others toss around Kevin Garnett, when referring to his inside and outside scoring. Hakeem Olajuown’s defensive skills draw Davis comparisons. But forget all that. There’s truly only one Anthony Davis. No player has done what he can do. I relied heavily on GIFs in this post because Davis’ game is hard to believe without seeing it.

Davis’ game is versatile and fluid. He can do literally just about everything on the court. Shoot, score in the post, dribble, block, defend – you name it. That’s one of the main reasons I see his name in the same sentence as LeBron and Durant sooner rather than later. All three have traits that shouldn’t fit their body. It’s what makes them great. At 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, LeBron should not be nearly as athletic or fast as he is; at 6-foot-10, Durant should not be the in argument for the NBA’s best shooter; at 6-foot-11, with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, Davis should be dominant in post, but he shouldn’t have the speed, athleticism, and shooting touch that he does.

Being selected first overall in the NBA Draft gives a player significantly heightened expectations. We’ve seen players crumble under that pressure for various reasons, such as Greg Oden, Kwame Brown, or Michael Olowokandi. And there have players who excelled under the circumstances like LeBron and Shaquille O’Neal. He only has two years under his belt, but Davis’ career trajectory confidently hints at him ascending towards the category occupied by LeBron and Shaq.

Entering his junior year of high school, Davis was a 6-foot-3 guard for Perspectives Charter without any Division 1 scholarship offers. During his junior season, he picked up an offer from Cleveland State. Then Davis experienced a Jack and the Beanstalk-like growth spurt. By his senior season, Davis stood at 6-foot-10 and ranked as the nation’s top high school prospect. What a difference a year can make.

But with that growth explosion, Davis maintained the skills that made him a solid guard. The quickness, the speed, the ball handling skills, all of it. And he still uses them today. Transcending from a guard to a power forward brought it’s challenges, as Davis was forced to learn the skills of a big man. During his senior season in Chicago, and his one year in Lexington playing for Coach John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats, Davis made the transition look easy.

It seems like no task is too big for Davis. Year by year, his improvement is baffling. Just three years removed from being a 6-foot-3 guard virtually unknown to BCS schools, Davis was the starting power forward for the New Orleans Hornets. In his rookie season he posted a solid 13.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per contest. They weren’t jaw dropping numbers, but the potential was there. It was clear that Davis hadn’t scratched the surface of what he could become.

He followed his rookie season up with impressive improvements in each department. His 13.5 points skyrocketed to 20.8; his 8 nightly rebounds blossomed into double digits at 10.8; and his rim protection increased from 1.8 blocks per night to 2.8. Davis’ numbers were good enough to land him a spot on the Western Conference All-Star team at just 20 years old. And just like that, after only his second year in the NBA, it was blatantly obvious that Davis was emerging as a superstar.

This summer, after Paul George’s gruesome injury and Durant’s withdrawal from the team, Davis was pegged as a leader of Team USA’s FIBA World Cup mission. Again, he’s just a 21-year-old. And he fit the mold nicely, averaging a little over 12 points and 6.6 rebounds in just under 20 minutes per game.

Now in his third season, Davis is the face of the Pelicans’ franchise. Roughly two weeks into the season, he’s handling the duty well. He’s growing into the superstar he was destined to be and the scariest part is that he’s only 21 years old.

Let’s get into a breakdown of why Davis is so dominant.

Offensively

Remember when I said he never really lost those guard skills?

We all know the lob has become Davis’ bread and butter. He sets a high pick, rolls to the hoop, and dunks on anyone in his way. It’s almost too easy for the point guard in this scenario. If the ball is put anywhere near the rim, Davis’ wingspan and athleticism assure that he’ll dunk it home. But there’s much more to his game than that.

Now Davis is a dual threat offensively, especially as his jump shot continues to improve. He’s a nightmare for defenders – now more than ever. This is where the Duncan and Garnett comparisons have come into play. He has the size and skill to score in the post, but he’ll also extend defenders out 15 or 20 feet and knock down jumpers.

But Davis has a fluidity to his game that Duncan and Garnett don’t – and never did. Duncan has earned a reputation as a bit of a stiff for his orthodox stye of play and lack of athleticism or quickness. Garnett is better than Duncan in that department, but still nowhere near Davis.

Watch Davis take his man off the dribble, lose him with a step-back move, and drain the 15-footer. He looks like a wing. It’s jaw dropping stuff.

The combination of his first step and quickness force defenders to give him a cushion when facing up outside the paint. But that’s leading to trouble for defenders. Watch how Varejao is forced to respect Davis’ speed and first step, which leaves Davis with an uncontested 20-footer.

This situation is a little different than the traditional face-up, as Varejao is closing out in this scenario. But when Davis gets the ball off a pick-and-pop, his defender is in trouble. If he plays Davis tight, the quicker Davis will blow by him. If he gives him cushion, good luck blocking a high-released shot from a 6-foot-10 forward with arms as long as Davis’.

In the post, Davis is quick, creative, and versatile. He uses those traits to make up for his lack of strength. While he is much better in face-up situations, he can play with his back to the basket. He often uses a spin move to elude his defender. As he gets to the rim, his arms are too long for the defender to recover and block the shot. But Davis can also employ some Duncan or Garnett-like behavior. After backing a defender down, he’s shown an ability to hit some turn around jumpers.

Davis is also terrific running the floor. He’s fast for his size and gets out into transition. Somehow, he often goes unnoticed as he runs parallel to the sidelines. Defenders pick up the ball and the sly Davis is suddenly wide open cutting towards the hoop for the wide open dunk.

Defensively

Envisioning Davis a perennial NBA Defensive Player of the Year isn’t ludicrous. In fact, it’s very reasonable.

Davis’ ability to block shots in unmatched in the NBA. He’s a versatile shot blocker, which sounds weird to even say. But his speed, instincts, and 7-foot-5 wingspan all compliment each other to allow him to block shots in a variety of ways. Whether it’s in the post or on the perimeter, no shot is safe around Davis.

Let’s start with just the wingspan. Here we see Davis reach over a screen to somehow still block Damian Lillard’s three point attempt.

Now wingspan combines with speed. Here, he gets beat by Kevin Love initially, but he’s able to recover thanks to his speed. He then uses that long reach to swat Love’s shot attempt from behind.

And finally, all three combine in this block on Chandler Parsons. This one is crazy.

Davis’ speed helps him recover from the top of the key in a flash; his instincts keep him grounded on Parsons’ pump fake; his wingspan deflects the three point attempt by a 6-foot-10 shooter with a high release.

When Davis isn’t blocking shots, he’s still quick enough to keep up with many point guards. His mobility allows the Pelicans to switch screens, and they tend to do so more than most NBA teams. Once again, Davis’ three main defensive traits are the reason for this. His speed allows him to stay with guards, his wingspan refuses to let them get shots off, and his instincts help him rack up steals.

In this GIF, we see how Davis’ wingspan and instincts make it difficult to do anything around him. Watch how he’s able to bait Tobias Harris into a pass.

He simultaneously sags off his man and blocks Harris’ route to the basket. This forces Harris into a kick out pass, but Davis’ lanky arms swat the ball before it can reach Kyle O’Quinn. And then we see the speed open up a highlight dunk.

Simply put, Davis is a game changer defensively.

What’s next?

The Pelicans have already exercised their team option to keep Davis through the 2015-16 season. But he’ll be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2016.

This puts some pressure on the Pelicans. Working with a tight salary cap, putting pieces around Davis will be tough. But he’s going to get max money in the summer of 2016, regardless of where it’s coming from.

Although it’s clear that Davis has added muscle to his twig-like frame, he stills needs more. One of his weaknesses is playing in the restricted area or the middle of the paint. Davis isn’t the toughest player in the NBA. When matched up against bigger power forwards or centers, he gives up considerable weight and muscle. He’s improved his bulk, but how big can a skinny frame actually get? It’ll be interesting to see.

Regardless of his muscle differential, though, Davis is a star. And he’s quickly climbing the ranks of the NBA’s best players. He makes up for his lanky body in a multitude of ways. From blocking, to shooting, to athleticism, we’ve never seen a power forward do all Davis can do.

As for now, Davis is posting an impressive player efficiency rating of 35.79 two weeks into the season. His jumpshot continues to improve, he’s proven that his numbers are capable of taking significant leaps from year to year, and oh yeah, he’s only 21 years old. The sky is truly the limit for the Chicago product.