Watch: Anthony Davis throws down one-handed slam while drawing foul as Lakers go up by 6
LA Lakers star big man Anthony Davis showed out in the first half of the Lakers’ sixth and final preseason game against Phoenix on Thursday. Davis recorded 13 points, two rebounds, one 3-pointer and a whopping five blocks on 50.0% shooting in just 17 minutes. He also threw down a nasty one-handed and-one slam dunk midway through the second quarter to put the Lakers up by six points.
Davis first caught the ball at the top of the arc and handed it off to teammate Taurean Prince. He then proceeded to set a pick before rolling to the basket for the highlight finish off an assist from Prince.
Check out Davis’ highlight dunk below:
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How has Anthony Davis fared this preseason?
LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham has been talking up Anthony Davis ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season.
Ham has touched on Davis’ improved leadership and work ethic. He has also called on the star big man to be more aggressive on offense this season, including from beyond the arc:
“I want him to be aggressive from all three levels,” Ham said after the Lakers’ practice on Tuesday.
“I don’t want him to think ‘OK, man,’ and second-guess his shot. If he catches it and no one’s in front of him or his defender is off of him, I want him shooting the ball from 3. If he happens to be in the corner and he catches it, I want him to shoot the ball from 3, while still being aggressive in the low post and the midrange.
He continued:
“So, it’s not like I just want him to become this exclusive stretch big all of a sudden. I just want him to be aggressive from each and every spot on the floor.”
Based on preseason, Davis certainly looks aggressive so far. Through his first four games entering Thursday night, Davis is averaging 14.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 3-pointers per game.
He has done so on 54.5/50.0/88.9 shooting splits, playing just 17.0 minutes per game.
This kind of all-around per-minute production should get Lakers fans excited, as Davis appears poised for another dominant season at both ends of the court.
Last season, he averaged 25.9 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 2.0 bpg and 0.3 3pg on 56.3% shooting over 56 games.
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