Personal NBA achievements are gratifying, but they shouldn’t define who players are on the hardwood.
For Los Angeles Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis, there is no desire to secure individual awards at the end of the 2024-25 season.
“Obviously, the main focus is staying healthy, staying on the floor," Anthony Davis told the Sporting Tribune's Mark Melinda on Monday. "The rest, as far as individual accolades and things like that, I just let it take care of itself. I don’t stress too much over that, it’s not like I’m in consideration for things anyway. I don’t know how, but I don’t let that bother me, I just go out there and play basketball and focus on our team wins. If we’re able to get enough of those and play very well at a high level as a unit, I’m pretty sure that stuff will happen, but that’s not my focus.”
Last season, Davis didn’t win the Defensive Player of the Year award despite being a worthy candidate, but he succeeded in participating in over 90% of the Lakers’ regular season contests. He averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 76 games. However, since the start of his second season in Los Angeles, Davis has struggled to avoid the injury bug. Due to calf and Achilles injuries, Davis played in just 36 games during the 2020-21 season and suffered an additional setback in the first round of the playoffs.
During the 2021-22 campaign, Davis experienced knee soreness, a sprained MCL, wrist pain, a sprained ankle and a foot sprain, which caused him to miss 42 contests. The following year, he was hindered by foot and back injuries and failed to appear in at least 60 games for the third consecutive season.
With Davis coming off a career year health-wise, the Lakers should feel good about their chances of making a deep run in the postseason. When Davis is near 100%, Los Angeles becomes a legitimate Western Conference contender.
Defensively, Davis can slide over from the weak side and make up for his teammates’ on-ball blunders by swatting away layups at the rim. He can also erase put-back attempts by displaying his superb second jump and ball-tracking ability. Offensively, Davis is a player who thrives in ball screen situations. His willingness to take open mid-range jumpers and catch lobs around the basket makes him a nightmare to defend in those scenarios.
As Davis noted during media day, individual accolades usually come with consistent wins, but he's only concerned with the Lakers' well-being going into the new season.
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