Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis has credited teammate Marc Gasol for helping him improve his passing this season.
“I’ve been learning a lot from Marc as far as passing bigs from the top, the elbow, from the post,” Davis said. “Just trying to figure out ways to kind of steal that from him, and also Bron (LeBron James). He’s been talking to me about that as well over the past couple of years.”
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has also publicly acknowledged the improvement, calling Davis’ ability to pass out of trouble “night-and-day” compared that of last season.
Gasol signed with the Lakers last offseason after playing the previous two seasons with the Toronto Raptors, helping them win a title in 2018-19.
He was drafted by the Lakers in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft but his draft rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he spent the first 11 seasons of his career.
The veteran center, who is known for his passing skills as a big man, is averaging 4.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game this season. He’s also appeared in the starting lineup through all 15 games.
While Davis’ assists per game have only slightly improved from 3.2 to 3.4 compared to the 2019-20 season, his turnovers have dropped substantially, going from 2.5 per game last season to 1.7 this season.