When the New Orleans Pelicans won the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery, selecting former Kentucky Wildcats’ big man Anthony Davis seemed like a no brainer. The Pelicans followed through and selected Davis and after fighting through a few injuries during his rookie season, he developed into an All-Star last season.
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Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders believes Davis is “the next great big man.”
"Having written about the high expectations we have for Davis at length in the past, this selection should come as no surprise. While Leonard may be a dream, Davis is just about every opposing coach’s (and player’s) worst nightmare as we look at the not too distant future for the all-world, 6’10 power forward. While Davis is certain to be everyone’s flavor of the week by the time we reach the All-Star break in February, be sure to pay close attention to all of the ways he impacts the game along the way. The 20.8 PPG, 10 RPG and 2.8 BPG don’t begin to define just how much of an impact Davis can have on the game, as the versatile big can literally do a bit of everything on both sides of the court. That, in itself, seems like more and more of a rarity these days. In a league that seems to focus disproportionately toward the offensive end, Davis not only has the footwork, range and developing post-game, but tends to do his most impressive work on the defensive end as both a rim-protector and weakside defender. His small market Pelicans only have 10 scheduled nationally televised games in 2014-15, so be sure you don’t miss the NBA’s next great big man as he develops right before your eyes."
Davis averaged 20.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 51.9% from the field, 22.2% from three and 79.1% from the free throw line last season. He’s gone for 17.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 51.8% from the floor, 13.3% from three and 77.7% from the free throw line in his two-year career.
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