Don’t forget about Anthony Davis

The NBA’s Next Big Thing is always in a state of flux. Young prospects are like seasonal favorites, enticing one moment, forgotten in the next; they are the pumpkin spice lattes of the sports world.

Anthony Davis held the title for several seasons. He was a monster on Kentucky’s 2012 national championship team, averaging 17.7 points, 13.0 rebounds and 5.8 blocks per 40 minutes while shooting better than 60 percent from the floor. According to Box Plus-Minus, it was the single best season delivered by any college basketball player in the last six years (as far back as the statistic goes). His performance was enough to make him the number one pick in the 2012 draft.

The now 23-year old delivered early on his potential in the NBA. In his first season, he made the All-Rookie first team and the All-Star Game in his second. In his third, he was a first team All-NBA player as he dragged the Pelicans to their first playoff birth since Chris Paul hooped in the Big Easy. And last season, all Davis did was average 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Only 11 players in NBA history have ever posted similar numbers over the course of a full season — averaging more than 24 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Davis has done it twice in four years and the list of players to do it more than once — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patrick Ewing, Bob McAdoo, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson — is littered with Hall of Famers.

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Despite the gaudy statistics, Davis’ grip on the title of next big thing is still tenuous. He has yet to play more than 70 games in an NBA season, the product of a series of injuries over his career that cause many to doubt that he will realize his full potential. There are also external factors, namely a collection of young centers ready to snatch the belt themselves. That group is led by Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, another Kentucky product whose versatility on both ends of the floor makes him the prize of modern basketball. Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid is ready for his shot as well.

Both Towns and Embiid have storylines that fit the narrative better than Davis. Towns is the superstar on arguably the league’s best young roster, with the potential to lead the Timberwolves to a playoff birth in his second season. Embiid, meanwhile, is the culmination of “The Process,” the high-risk draft pick who could turn around the fortunes of an entire city if he’s able to stay on the floor. Davis, on the other hand, is stuck.

New Orleans is yet to put together a competent collection of talent around the 23-year old. In their opening night matchup against the Denver Nuggets, the Pelicans rolled out a starting lineup of E’Twaun Moore, Tim Frazier, Solomon Hill, Omer Asik and Davis. Being stuck on a team wallowing in mediocrity is no way to endear yourself to anyone. In many ways, Davis is subject to a lighter version of the criticism that surrounded Lebron James during his first stint in Cleveland, “If this guy’s so good, why can’t his team win more games?”

But on Wednesday night, there was Davis kicking down the door to the party that he’d been booted from after Towns’ rookie year and Embiid’s preseason performance. While much of the NBA world watched Embiid’s regular season debut with the Sixers, Davis dropped a ridiculous stat line in defeat — 50 points on 34 shots, 16 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and four blocks. In the data we have available, nobody has ever put up those numbers in a single game.

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This was Davis’ entry back into the contest, a reminder of just how good he can be and of the potential that exists in New Orleans if the talent around him can ever coalesce. There are of course still roadblocks that might keep Davis from ever regaining his title as the league’s best young player, but he’s not going to let anyone forget that he’s there.

At 23-years old, Davis has plenty time to develop before he hits his prime. He’s already expanded his shooting range and shown that he has the skill to anchor a defense; he’s well on his way to being a complete two-way center. Consider Wednesday night a reminder that it’s time to grab your next pumpkin spice latte and watch The Brow get back to work.