Apr 3, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis on court during warmup prior to the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Anthony Davis’ impact on the defensive end is undeniable, however, he was not named a finalist for the NBA’s 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year award. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar reacted to the news that he was not voted as one of the league’s three best defenders, despite playing 76 games and ranking third in the league in rebounds per game and fourth in blocks per game.
Speaking to Dave McMenamin, who covers the team for ESPN, the nine-time All-Star stated:
“I’ll never get it. They’re not giving it to me. The league doesn’t like me. I’m the best defensive player in the league. I can switch 1 through 5. I can guard the pick-and-roll the best in the league, from a big standpoint. I block shots. I rebound. I don’t know what else to do. I’m over it. I’m just going to do what I got to do to help the team win and try to play for a championship. Accolades and individual awards, I’m done with those.”
He noted that he has the ability to do everything on the defensive end, adding:
“I can block shots, I can help from the weak side, I can switch onto anybody, I can guard the pick-and-roll, I can guard the guard and get back on the big and break up the lob, I can guard the post, I can guard the pindown. Whatever it is. Whatever it is defensively, I’m able to do. So, that’s my ability. My ability defensively is to do everything.” [h/t ESPN]
Davis had an excellent season on both ends, while also quieting the doubters by setting a new career high in games played. He averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 55.6% from the field and 81.6% from the free-throw line. While he likely deserved to be among the Defensive Player of the Years finalists – particularly when considering how much he does for the Lakers on that side of the ball – the 2020 NBA champion is only focused on getting his second ring. Los Angeles will look to rebound from a Game 1 loss when they face the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.
Did Anthony Davis deserve to be among the Defensive Player of the Year finalists?
The NBA award finalists were announced on Inside the NBA on Sunday. Anthony Davis’ name was notably missing from the list of Defensive Player of the Year awards, with Bam Adebayo, Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama named as the three finalists.
Davis was the only player in the league to rank in the top-four in both rebounds and blocks per game. Gobert was the only player named a finalist that had more defensive win shares than the Los Angeles Lakers star. Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet shared a graphic that the network ran comparing the two centers.
Looked into some stats for Davis vs. Gobert in the DPOY discussion, via @JoeyARamirez.
Gobert leads the NBA in def. win shares, but AD is tied for 2nd with Gobert’s teammate Anthony Edwards. Gobert has more help on that end (McDaniels, Anderson, NAW, Reid, etc.). pic.twitter.com/FA9guZgRTS
As Trudell noted, Gobert has far more help on the defensive side of the ball – four of his teammates rank in the top-20 in defensive win shares and another two rank in the top-30. All in all, the Minnesota Timberwolves center has seven teammates who have accounted for more defensive win shares than every Lakers player other than Davis. Los Angeles has just one player – LeBron James – who ranks in the top-100 in defensive win shares.
While each of the players named a finalist for the award are elite on the defensive end, it is hard to dispute Davis’ status as a top-three defender this season. Despite his snub for the award, the Lakers star will likely be named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team in the first year that the award will be positionless.
Check out the full list of award finalists via Inside the NBA below:
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Caleb Gebrewold is the Editor for The Dunk Central. He is an experienced journalist who has covered the NBA, MLB, NFL, college sports, mixed martial arts and boxing. His work has been featured in publications such as Fansided, MSN, Yardbreaker, Sportskeeda and Gridiron Heroics. Caleb has a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communications from Purdue University.
