Watch: Anthony Davis' game-saving block helps Team USA pip Select side 74-73
Anthony Davis showed off what he brings to Team USA in their scrimmage win over Team Select on Monday. Davis' block helped Team USA get the victory over a bunch of youngsters including Cooper Flagg, Brandon Miller, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandin Podziemski.
In the video below, the scrimmage was about to end with Podziemski having the ball for the final shot. He called for an isolation play against Davis, who is one of the best defenders in the world.
The Golden State Warriors guard drove right and tried to take a step-back jump shot, but "AD" was all over him. Podziemski was forced to shoot the ball with the clock about to expire only for the LA Lakers superstar to swat it for the win.
Fans not impressed with Anthony Davis, Team USA win
NBA fans online were not impressed with Team USA's win over the Select Team since it was only by a point. They expected the best basketball players in the world to dominate far more, even if it was just a scrimmage:
"Takes a game-saving block by Anthony Davis for an entire All-Star team of NBA players to beat Cooper Flagg by 1," one fan pointed out.
"Can barely beat the select team. Yeah, they are cooked," a fan commented.
"Did they play 3 on 5? They should beat any team by 20+," another fan wrote.
One player who stood out for the Select Team was Cooper Flagg, who has a shot at being the No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft. Select Team head coach Jamahl Mosley of the Orlando Magic was impressed with the Duke commit:
"He kicked butt here. There's a respect factor for what he's done. People who have not seen him play, as he gets himself going within the game, they quickly see what he can do," Mosley told ESPN.
Anthony Davis to be focal point of JJ Redick's LA Lakers
While Anthony Davis will only have a supporting role for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he'll be the focal point of JJ Redick's LA Lakers next season. Davis told The Washington Post's Ben Golliver that Redick told him about his plans, which include more involvement for him on offense:
"He talked about me being the hub of the offense. That will be different. We won't know everything until camp when we're able to get on the floor. We want LeBron to shoot more threes. He 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 said.
Davis is coming off a healthy campaign for the Lakers, missing just six regular season games. He averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 55.6% from the floor.