Former NBA player Charles Oakley praised Anthony Davis six years ago for his talent, but he questioned why Davis takes so many 3-point shots.
Oakley challenged Davis to dominate from the midrange without resorting to the 3-ball because of his athletic ability.
Oakley: "Told Anthony Davis about 6 yrs ago 'You're not a 3-pt shooter. You're the best thing since sliced cheese — killer midrange, you're athletic, you play both ends of the court. Why you want to shoot 3s?' I heard coach of the Lakers say he should shoot take 5-6 a game. Why?"
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) April 26, 2021
While the Los Angeles Lakers may want Davis to shoot the 3, he hasn’t shot close to five or six 3-pointers per game.
This season, Davis is shooting just 2.6 3-point shots each night after he shot 3.5 per game last season.
Davis has been limited to just 25 games this year due to a calf injury, but is still averaging 21.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
Oakley may want to see Davis attack the rim more, but the big man is a career 31.4 percent 3-point shooter.
Davis’ ability to stretch the defense makes him an even bigger mismatch for defenses. While he shouldn’t rely solely on the 3-ball, Davis should not completely eradicate it from his game either.
