Former NBA head coach and current ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy questioned whether or not Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis should be considered a future Hall of Famer during the team’s win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
His fellow analyst Mark Jackson started off by saying that Davis has played a Hall of Fame career, but Van Gundy wasn’t completely on board.
If you missed it last night, Jeff Van Gundy isn't sold on Anthony Davis being a Hall of Famer… pic.twitter.com/Fj7jAZH8fT
— Peter Dewey (@peterdewey2) January 5, 2023
“Are you sure right now if he ended today, he’d be a Hall of Famer?” Van Gundy asked.
Jackson argued that to this point in Davis’ career, the Lakers big man has done enough to be considered a future member of the Hall of Fame. He then asked Van Gundy if he agreed that Davis was on pace for the Hall of Fame.
“I’m not sure because of the injuries,” Van Gundy said. “He’s just…been unavailable so often. I think it’s hard to say that.”
Even though injuries have hampered Davis over the last few seasons in Los Angeles, he still has an extremely impressive resume for his career. His accolades date all the way back to his time at the University of Kentucky.
Davis won a national championship with the Wildcats in his lone season at Kentucky, and he’s turned that success into a terrific NBA career.
This is Davis’ 11th season in the NBA, and he’s already made eight All-Star teams, four All-NBA teams, four All-Defensive teams and been named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
That’s a ton of accomplishments in a short amount of time, and Davis still hasn’t even turned 30 years of age.
He’s going to need to stay healthy to truly push his career numbers, but Davis has an NBA title to his name and has been one of the best players in the NBA for the majority of his professional career.
Over his 11 seasons, Davis is averaging 24.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. He’s an elite player on both ends of the floor.
There are obviously long-term concerns with Davis since he has dealt with injuries that have kept him out of the lineup for large portions of the last three seasons in Los Angeles, but he still has a lot of basketball in front of him.
Van Gundy may not be sold on the Lakers star just yet, but Davis could make his Hall of Fame resume even stronger with a few more good seasons. Davis is currently out of the team’s lineup as he continues to recover from a foot injury.