Every NBA fan knows that Anthony Davis has been a dominant force in the league for quite some time, but a comparison between the superstar’s shot chart from the 2019-20 regular season to that of the 2020 NBA Playoffs tells the story of a player taking a massive leap in his progression.
Taking a look at how Davis shot during the regular season compared to how he’s shot during the playoffs makes it clear that Davis has become one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the league.
AD in regular season vs AD in playoffs. Went from 35% in mid range to 51% pic.twitter.com/p8ZI9j7IbE
— #1 Point God Stan (@samesfandiari) October 3, 2020
The improvement is so impressive that Davis drew comparisons to all-time midrange assassins Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki.
Don’t get me wrong. He could always shoot those shots. 35% is on low end but the playoff run has been borderline KD/Dirk level efficiency on those shots.
— #1 Point God Stan (@samesfandiari) October 3, 2020
The leap is something that Lakers fans should be incredibly excited about. While fellow superstar LeBron James is still a dominant force, there is no doubt that his age will begin to take a toll sooner rather than later.
Davis has shown that he is ready and able to become the head man on a team that is now just two wins away from winning an NBA championship.
Though it will be interesting to see if Davis’ shooting numbers take a dip whenever NBA games return to being played in packed arenas, for the time being, it seems clear that the Lakers big man is clearly one of the most elite offensive weapons in the league today.
