Former NBA champion Richard Jefferson throws down the gauntlet to Anthony Davis with hot take
With the Los Angeles Lakers heading into the upcoming season under a new head coach in JJ Redick, former NBA champion Richard Jefferson shared an intriguing take on Anthony Davis.
The All-Star forward is regarded as one of the best two-way players in the game, who has been an integral piece of the purple and gold's success. Jefferson highlighted Davis' talent level being at its peak without any MVP or DPOY awards.
In his appearance on ESPN's "NBA Today," the former Cleveland Cavaliers forward talked about the Lakers superstar playing at the best level of his career. Injuries aside, Davis is more than capable of putting up the kind of production that can affect a team's winning process.
"This is the thing, AD is in his prime," Jefferson said. "If he ends his career, in my opinion, he will be the most talented player to end his career without an MVP or a Defensive Player of the Year. He needs to be in that conversation this season."
Despite no MVP or DPOY present in his body of work, Anthony Davis has not come up short in displaying his effectiveness in putting the ball in the basket and preventing opponents from having an easy time at the rim.
His talent level rivals a lot of NBA legends in previous eras from Hakeem Olajuwon to Kevin Garnett. With an intriguing cultural change upon the head coach hiring of JJ Redick, Jefferson envisions an important stretch of basketball for Davis' career.
Anthony Davis talked about Lakers coach JJ Redick's plans for him and the team this upcoming NBA season
During an interview with the Washington Post's Ben Golliver, Anthony Davis talked about Redick's plans for him to be the main focal point of the team's offensive process.
"[Redick] talked about me being the hub of the offense," Davis said. "That will be different. We won't know everything until [training] camp when we're able to get on the floor. We want LeBron to shoot more threes. [Redick] wants to play fast and defend. From what he was telling me, I'm in total agreeance with what he has planned for us."
Davis remains a matchup nightmare for most opponents due to his ability to post-up players under the basket and convert on mid-range looks on the court. He is also more than capable of being effective at the pick-and-roll, whether it's taking advantage of mismatches or making the extra pass to a teammate.
Last season, Anthony Davis put up 24.7 points (55.6% shooting, including 27.1% from beyond the arc), 12.6 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. He was also able to play in 76 games for the Lakers, which was the most he has logged in his career.