Ron Chenoy – USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis has been a great defensive anchor for the team over the past five seasons with the team, but for some reason, that hasn't translated into Defensive Player of the Year awards. He finished second in DPOY voting in 2019-20 and fourth in 2023-24 despite an arguably better season.
Davis' defensive dominance has been evident through two different coaching regimes for Los Angeles and will hopefully continue into the third regime under new head coach JJ Redick. The first-time head coach is expected to be an offensive-minded player, but with Davis as an anchor, Los Angeles' defense should be at least respectable.
Redick certainly believes so, as he views Davis as one of the best defenders in the league, and, according to Lakers.com's Mike Trudell, he's hopeful he can be the coach to help Davis get over the DPOY hurdle.
“I thought Anthony had a great year, and I personally thought he had a really good season defensively. He's one of the top five defenders in the NBA. That's all there is to it. If he wins Defensive Player of the Year, I'd love to coach him. I think he's that level of defender. We just have to get better as a team around him. Tactically, I'll work with the coaching staff and we'll put it into the game plan based on analytics, expected shot value, what we're going to do. He's going to be the focal point of the offense, no matter what the situation. He's going to be the focal point. He's going to have the ball. We've talked about him being the focal point of the offense. To me, everyone says, 'Anthony Davis is great offensively, but his real value is on defense.' His real value is the fact that he's Anthony Davis and is an elite two-way player.”
Some might argue that Davis ranks even higher than fifth in the league defensively, but Redick clearly understands the value Davis brings to the Lakers and seems ready to get the most out of the Lakers star on both ends of the court.
Davis just needs to win the DPOY award to establish himself as one of the most well-rounded and accomplished defensive players of his generation, and maybe Redick is the coach who can put the Lakers in a position where he can achieve that goal.
Anthony Davis happy to be reunited with Jrue Holiday
While JJ Redick prepares the Lakers for the 2024-25 season, Anthony Davis is playing for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he'll team up with former New Orleans Pelicans running mate Jrue Holiday. Davis talked about why he loves playing with Holiday and how excited he is to get another chance to do so.
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