With Better Points, Rebounds, and Blocks, is Anthony Davis Overlooked at Lakers Because of LeBron James?

Anthony Davis is having one of the finest seasons of his career. With LeBron James next to him, AD has been unleashed to his full potential in the league. A position change which sees him play the four more than the five has also enabled this success. Davis is clearly thriving in LA. However, he doesn’t seem to be getting the recognition that he deserves.

AD’s name is mentioned in the MVP race, but behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Luka Doncic, and his teammate, LeBron James. James and Antetokounmpo are probably the two runaway candidates for the award. However, AD deserves more consideration than he has gotten. He is currently the Lakers leader in not only scoring but also in rebounds and blocks. He also has marginally better scoring efficiency than LeBron. So why is AD being ignored?

Anthony Davis: The real star of the Lakers?

Davis’ numbers don’t lie, but they don’t tell the full story. Davis has been genuinely dominant. He is averaging 26.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks a game this season. These numbers mean more than the ones he put up in New Orleans because these are contributing to winning basketball. He is shooting 51% from the field and 33% from three. However, the LeBron impact on his numbers cannot be understated.

LeBron probably has his best running-mate ever in Davis. Dwyane Wade was elite, but his regression had begun by the time ‘Bron got to Miami. Kyrie Irving was still emerging as a star and had his best individual seasons with Boston.

James is averaging 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 10.6 assists. The instant correlation that we can draw is that AD is scoring more than ‘Bron on such efficiency because LeBron hands him some beautiful looks in the post and mid-range. LeBron is getting his buckets at his own will and a solid 50% shooting efficiency, with 35% from the three.

AD’s success is inherently linked with him having LeBron as a teammate. Defenses collapse because of LeBron and no one can better capitalize on those scoring situations than AD. Davis will always have more rebounds and blocks due to his general size and position. It is unfair to say AD should be the 1-A in the Lakers and ‘Bron be 1-B, as the offense is still generated by the aging star. However, this does paint a rosy picture of how the Lakers would perform if LeBron starts his career regression anytime soon.

Sources: Basketball Reference (Davis), Basketball Reference (James)