During the Lakers' 2020 championship run inside the NBA bubble, Anthony Davis looked poised to join the conversation of best players in the league. But the next two seasons for him were rough, culminating in an All-Star snub last year and a disappointing 33-win season.
After two long years in the muck, Davis and the Lakers look like they're finally clawing back into their old form.
Davis is coming off two games in which he had a combined 99 points and 27 rebounds, a feat that has been accomplished by only a handful of players. Behind that strong play, the Lakers have won eight of their last 10 after starting the season 2-10.
What exactly has caused his return to elite bubble form?
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Anthony Davis rediscovers shooting touch with better shot selection
The most prominent factor in Davis' stellar bubble play was his surprisingly effective jump shooting. He hit an incredible 55 percent of his midrange attempts and a solid 38 percent of his 3s.
Those numbers completely evaporated post-bubble and looked to be a total fluke. Davis became one of the worst 3-point shooters in the league, hitting a ghastly 19 percent from deep last season. His midrange game also fell from its supernova level, and his free throw shooting dropped over 10 percent.
Davis looks to have regained at least a little bit of that bubble shooting touch this season, again in another fairly small sample. The midrange shooting still isn't there, but he's back to capably hitting 3s and shooting a great 83.2 percent at the line.
| Category | Davis in 2020 playoffs | Davis in 2021 and 2022 seasons | Davis in 2023 season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field goal % | 57.1% | 51.3% | 59.0% |
| 3 point % | 38.3% | 22.9% | 33.3% |
| Free throw % | 83.2% | 72.5% | 83.2% |
| Long midrange % | 55.2% | 37% | 36% |
| Points per game | 27.7 | 22.5 | 28.6 |
Davis also seems to have come to terms with the fact that he's not an elite shooter. For the past few years, he would catch at the elbow and shoot fadeaways as if he were on par with players like Kevin Durant or Jayson Tatum. He's cut most of those out, and now he's driving to the rim or finishing off dump-offs way more frequently.
MORE: Inside Anthony Davis's 55-point outburst
This is reflected in his shot chart, where it's apparent that he's cleaned up a lot of those outside looks.
Shot charts via Statmuse
Anthony Davis is playing much better off LeBron James and Russell Westbrook
Part of that commitment towards shooting more at the rim is because Davis is getting some of the easiest layups of his career by playing alongside LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. His job has been simplified as a play finisher off spectacular passes from those two.
LeBron and Davis had developed good chemistry during their championship run in 2020. But disjointed seasons and injuries to both players led to them sharing the court for only 49 games over the past two years.
That connection has returned this season, as is evidenced through the NBA's tracking data. LeBron is back to feeding his big man regularly.
| Year | Passes to Davis | Assists to Davis |
| 2023 | 10.9 | 2.4 |
| 2022 | 5.2 | 0.6 |
| 2021 | 7.6 | 1.2 |
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Davis has been one of the best rollers in the league, scoring 1.39 points per possession on pick-and-rolls. You can count on LeBron to set him up for a handful of easy dunks every game.
Westbrook has also been fantastic at setting Davis up for easy dump-off dunks and layups. While Westbrook has received criticized for his early season play, he's been much more effective off the bench and can still get downhill to collapse defenses and create openings for teammates.
The ease of Davis' looks, combined with his fantastic touch and strength around the basket, have led to him being tied with Steph Curry as the most efficient high-volume scorer in the league.
The most efficient offensive players in the #NBA so far this season: pic.twitter.com/gvHSC63IbH
— Synergy Basketball (@SynergySST) December 5, 2022
Anthony Davis is finally playing center
For years, everyone has known that Davis would be much more effective as a center. He's resisted those pleas, until this season. Lakers coach Darvin Ham finally has convinced Davis to play almost all of his minutes as the lone big man on the floor, and it's opened up a ton of his game.
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Davis now has more space to work with, slower matchups to blow by against, and he can truly unlock his defensive versatility on the other end of the floor. The Lakers have him playing every coverage throughout games — dropping back below the level, playing at the level, switching, quarterbacking a zone defense, you name it.
Davis' excellence as a defensive anchor has the Lakers' halfcourt defense up to no. 4 in the league, an insane recovery from their no. 24 ranking last year. The Lakers were no. 4 in that statistic during their championship run in 2020 as well. If they have any chance of going deep in the playoffs, it will have to be through a return to their stout defense and Davis continuing to play big down low.
