National Basketball Association

Should We Worry About Anthony Davis?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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It may seem crazy to consider, but is the career of Anthony Davis in danger of never hitting the dizzy heights he’s looked certain for since his rookie year?

Few players in the NBA today have the potential to go as far as Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans. The 23-year-old seemingly has been a star since before his one collegiate season with the University of Kentucky.

Already he has an Olympic gold medal to his name from the London 2012 Games, and his capabilities on the court are rivaled only by the great LeBron James. In short, the guy can do it all on both ends of the floor.

Now entering his fifth year as a pro, Davis has the tricky task of leading a poor Pelicans roster back to the playoffs. This is despite the fact that other organizations in the Western Conference have strengthened their rosters in more areas.

Having a once-in-a-generation talent like Davis is fantastic for a franchise. Failing to add the necessary pieces around him though? It’s worse than never having that player in the first place.

The ability of Davis alone may well get this team back to the postseason. But beyond that, they’ll never do more that make it past the second round. With that in mind, should we actually be worried about the career arc of Davis going forward?

Feb 4, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) shoots against the Los Angeles Lakers during a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Lakers defeated the Pelicans 99-96. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Again it seems foolish, Davis is a top-10 player in the NBA and two seasons ago led his team to the playoffs. They may have lost to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in the first round, but Davis was rightly in the MVP discussion throughout the year.

Really the cause for concern comes from the circumstances the guy finds himself in, at a time when star players gravitating together is at an all-time high.

With Kevin Durant now a member of that same Warriors team he has fallen to before, his path to true greatness looks to be blocked for the next three or four years at least.

That is without even considering how the likes of the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder and even Utah Jazz will look when the new season begins.

Davis needs help if he wants to reach the heights he’s clearly capable of hitting. Unfortunately for him, a look around the Pelicans roster hardly inspires confidence.

Although the average age of the team is just older than 26 years old (this includes all 18 players currently on their roster, which will be trimmed to 15 come opening night), there’s not a lot of young talent to get excited about.

Who is the second best player on this team? Jrue Holiday? The one time All-Star started only 23 games last season, playing his fewest minutes per game (28.2) since his rookie season.

He’s a fine player, underrated even. But injury has also robbed him of his best basketball since joining the team from the Philadelphia 76ers. Tyreke Evans?

Anthony Davis is expected to be medically cleared for the start of next season. (@BR_NBA).

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) September 8, 2016

Another player who is not as bad as you might think (career-high 38 percent from three-point range last season) and who has settled in with the Pelicans. He can do a bit of everything on the court.

In fact he had career-highs last season in assists (6.6) and free throw percentage (79.6 percent) while taking the second-fewest shots per game of his career as well (12.6).

He’s leveled out since winning Rookie of the Year honors with the Sacramento Kings, but if he’s your second-best player, you’re not getting very far as a team.

Buddy Hield is a guy who shows a lot of promise to possibly be that second option, but it will take time for him to grow into that role. This is worrying for Davis because he’s tied to this franchise until 2020-21 at the earliest.

He’ll only be hitting his peak at that point, but the NBA landscape will once again look very different by the time his potential free agency rolls around.

All of this is in play without even talking about the elephant in the room. The injuries that have forced Davis to sit out of games already. Many have been nagging and minor, but he was shut down before last season ended to have knee surgery.

He’s also had issues with his shoulder, suffering a torn labrum last year as well. In fact Davis has never completed a whole season. Yes, 82 games is a lot to get through unscathed.

But the closest he has come is playing in 68 the year he brought the Pelicans to the playoffs. For comparison, in LeBron James’ first four years, the fewest games he played in was 78.

Kevin Garnett played 80 and 82 games in two out of his first three years in the league, while Tim Duncan played in every game three out of his first four years as a pro.

Illustrious company? You bet, but he is only being measured against these greats because he has the potential to join them one day. To see that derailed by injury, bad timing and average teammates would be tough to watch.

Garnett is an interesting comparison as well, as the early years of his career went the same way. Growing pains with the Minnesota Timberwolves, before trying and failing year after year with mostly good, never great, teammates in the playoffs.

The repetition of falling short must have stung every year, especially with Duncan finding success so early in his career. But had Garnett never eventually moved to the Boston Celtics, how would his career be remembered?

Idolized in Minnesota sure, but tinged with what ifs having (likely) never won a ring while with the Timberwolves. We’re getting ahead of ourselves by potentially putting Davis in the same category as that sad story that never was.

But it’s something that needs to be addressed, especially with so many factors working against him at this moment in time.

Dec 28, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) shoots over Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) and forward Channing Frye (8) during the first quarter of a basketball game at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Again his ability on the court is not in question. Last season Davis added to his monstrous inside game by shooting 32 percent from three point range last year. That number will only improve as time goes by.

But it’s also worth noting that his scoring, blocks, steals and assists were down on the year before. So too were his minutes per game, despite taking more shots than ever before (18.6 per game).

More alarming still were some of his advanced numbers. His Player Efficiency Rating (league average 15) was a fantastic 25. All well and good, but the year before it was an other-worldly 30.8.

That same season, in 2014-15 when they made the playoffs, Davis had an offensive plus.minus of 4.2 and a defensive plus/minus of 3.0. Last year, they slipped to 1.0 and 1.2 respectively. These are still great numbers in so many areas.

But we’ve seen a glimpse of what Davis can look like as the best player in the league one day, so to take a step back was disheartening. It was surely only a blip, but no matter how good he is this coming season, the Pelicans still face an uphill battle to make it to the postseason.

Which is the dilemma facing Anthony Davis right now. Individually he’s a superb player. But without the necessary help to take that next step anytime soon, is his career in danger of not reaching the heights he looked certain to make at one point?