WASHINGTON, D.C. -When the ball went through the hoop in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game -the ball was Anthony Davis’ 20th made field goal, resulting in the 49th and 50th point of the night The Capital One Arena crowd let the visiting Los Angeles Lakers big man be heard by the crowd.
“M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!”
Davis who scored scores of 17 points, 55 points, and 3 blocked shots during L.A.’s 130-119 victory against the Washington Wizards, isn’t just receiving praise from fans.
“Jayson Tatum is playing his ass off, but when you’re talking about people in the MVP race or category, that probably will change after tonight,” Lakers guard Patrick Beverley said. “[Davis] should be up there, for sure.”
LeBron James, who compiled scoring 29 points with 8 rebound and six assists He also echoed the sentiment.
“He’s been unbelievable, man,” James declared. “On both sides of the floor. I mean, playing like the MVP of this league. Just straight dominance.”
Davis’s game in the game against the Wizards was among the best of the veteran’s 11-year career. This was the second-highest number of points he’s achieved, and also the most played in the Lakers uniform, joining Shaquille O’Neal as the sole players to have back-to-back games that had more than 40 points and 10 rebounding in the gold and purple.
It was more than nearly three decades since an athlete in the NBA had an average with at least 50 points and at least 15 rebounds, and 3 or more blocks, while making at 70 percent of his shots, as Davis (73 percent on the field) was akin to Patrick Ewing’s 50 points , 71 percent shooting 15 rebounds, as well as 3 blocks, which his New York Knicks star put up on Dec. 1st in 1990.
While his individual figures may appear, Davis said his lone goal is to achieve team success.
“To win a championship,” Davis stated when asked if your goals this year are to win the first Maurice The Podoloff Prize. “That’s it. If your mindset is on winning a championship, the rest will take care of itself. That’s always been my thought. I put the team first over any individual awards or accolades that come with it. So if we continue to do what we do and win basketball games, the rest will take care of itself.”
Sunday’s game was the Lakers win for the third time in a row and eighth win in their last 10 games, bringing their overall record from 10-12only two games back of the champions of the past Golden State Warriors, currently at No. 6 in the Western Conference.
The Lakers victory was the culmination of an impressive run for Davis his best ever performance in MVP vote is third place in 2017-18, when Davis was a player with the New Orleans Pelicans.
In his last Nine games Davis has averaged 35.3 scores on 64.8 percentage on the floor, 45.5% from 3 and 88 percent from the foul line. He is also racking up 15.6 rebound and 2.9 blocks per night. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham told reporters that things had were different for Davis after Davis was able fully recover from lower back pain which had affected him during the training camp. Davis’ efficiency, and even his confidence have only increased since.
“The first and foremost thing is his health,” Ham declared. “I think he’s feeling great, his body is feeling great. He’s had a few back issues early on, but he’s worked his way through them, and you can just see it in his face, as well as see it in his play. He’s having fun playing the game of basketball pain-free. And the guys know it. They know I make him a top priority in terms of who we need to play through.”
James stated that a one of his responsibilities is to be in Davis his ears to inform him how much he’s worth to the Lakers team.
“I think we all need to be reminded sometimes,” James stated. “No no matter how talented you are, or what’s going on throughout your day, we all have to remind ourselves every now and then the reason you’re here, the things you can do and the amount of faith we have in one another.
“Me, as a leader of the team, it’s part of my job to make sure, to reassure AD how great he is, how great he is in this league, not just for this team, but for this league.”
The Lakers are keen to see how far Davis will allow them to go.
“He’s totally picked up the torch and he’s running with it,” Ham told us. “And he’s bringing us along for the ride. It’s totally great to see.”
