Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes believes that Lakers star Anthony Davis would be the best player ever if he had Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s mindset and motor.
Barnes discussed Davis’ supreme skill set with Lamar Odom on a recent episode of “The LADE Show.”
“A.D. is probably more skilled than Giannis Antetokounmpo,” Odom said.
Barnes seemed to agree. He then spoke about the mindset Antetokounmpo has.
“Giannis has that different motor and mindset,” Barnes said.
Barnes believes that if Davis had that mindset with his game, he would be the best player to ever play.
“Oh, it would be over,” Barnes said. “It would be the best player ever created.”
The former Lakers forward doubled down on the take, saying that it would be “unfair” if Davis were blessed with his talent and Antetokounmpo’s drive.
“If A.D. had Giannis’ mind and motor, oh, it’d be over,” he said. “It would be unfair. God knew not to do that, though.”
Even though there are questions about Davis’ drive as a player, there’s no doubt that he’s one of the best players in the NBA when he’s healthy. Davis matched up with Antetokounmpo in the Lakers’ last game, and the former University of Kentucky star put on a show to lead Los Angeles to a win.
Davis finished the game with 44 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks while shooting 18-for-27 from the floor. He was extremely assertive on the offensive end, showing that he can dominate against even one of the league’s best players.
Injuries have hampered Davis since the Lakers won the NBA title in the 2019-20 season, but he looks to be back to playing some of the best basketball of his career this season.
Through his first 19 games in the 2022-23 campaign, Davis is averaging 27.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 57.7 percent from the field. He’s certainly improved his production from last season, and the Lakers have gone on a bit of a run recently because of his play.
Barnes and Odom are clearly impressed with Davis’ natural talent, and it appears they want to see him have the mindset to take over games even more, especially when he’s playing this well.
Davis and the Lakers will look to pick up another win on Sunday when they take on the Washington Wizards.
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