Bill Simmons of The Ringer recently offered his thoughts on the state of Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis.
Simmons believes Davis is declining, and he explained why.
Anthony Davis is a member of the #NBA75 which puts him amongst the elite @BillSimmons tells @TermineRadio & @Jumpshot8 Davis should be peaking right now in his late 20s. #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/WLyEBQ00TS
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) December 24, 2021
“What’s weird is Davis’ career has gone in the wrong direction,” Simmons said. “… If your free-throw attempts are going down, your rebounds are going down, your field-goal percentage is going down, your points are going down, and you’re in your late 20s, that doesn’t make sense. You should be peaking in your late 20s. … I just think he has too much weight. I think he should have like a [Kevin] Garnett/[Tim] Duncan kind of a body versus it seems like he’s trying to become a center, and I don’t know if he can carry the weight.”
Injuries have plagued Davis in recent seasons, and the 2021-22 campaign has been no different. The big man is currently on the shelf due to a sprained MCL. He’s expected to miss a good chunk of time.
The eight-time All-Star has appeared in 27 games this season. He’s averaging 23.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. While he’s knocking down 52.1 percent of his shots from the field, he’s shooting just 17.9 percent from deep.
The Lakers are certainly hoping that Davis will look like his vintage self once he returns from injury. He was a huge reason why the organization was able to capture the NBA title in the 2019-20 season.
If L.A. wants any chance at winning it all again this season, Davis is going to have to play at a high level.
