EL SEGUNDO, Calif. --- Anthony Davis felt the appreciation when Lakers first-year head coach JJ Redick filled his inbox with supportive messages after displaying either his positional versatility or outside shooting potential during the Paris Olympics.
What did Redick write?
“He would text me and say, ‘That’s what I want to see and things like that,’” Davis said. “Definitely with him, I’m going to be shooting more 3s.”
Davis felt the slights when he scanned the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year votes last season and saw his name placed behind Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama and Miami’s Bam Adebayo.
What parts of Davis’ defense don’t voters appreciate enough?
“All of it,” Davis said. “Every part.”
Anthony Davis on expressing apathy for DPOY awards pic.twitter.com/tk8oUJz4Vj
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) September 30, 2024
Amid those two developments, Davis enters the 2024-25 season and sixth year with the Lakers hoping to address two different objectives.
He plans to showcase himself once again as one of the NBA’s top defenders. He also hopes to showcase his offensive versatility once again to relieve LeBron James’ workload just as when they won the 2020 NBA title and a gold medal in the Paris Olympics together.
Of course, Davis cautioned an obvious caveat. “Obviously the main focus is staying healthy and staying on the floor,” said Davis. Since when hasn't health been a concern considering Davis’ extensive history? Yet, that history might actually be nothing more than old news. Davis hasn’t suffered a major injury since nursing an injured right foot midway through the 2022-23 season. Davis played 76 games last season. And despite playing seven weeks ago in the Paris Olympics, Davis maintained that he “felt great all summer.”
Therefore, the Lakers aren’t pondering too many questions about Davis’ health and availability. Instead, they’re discussing how best to feature Davis along with James and a handful of role players.
“We have not only one of the best players in the world, but one of the most unique players in the world in Anthony Davis,” Redick said. “Because there are very few people that can do the things he can do at his size in terms of his ball handling, his skill level offensively and certainly the fact that he’s one of the best defensive players in the world.”
Anthony Davis on his role under JJ Redick pic.twitter.com/IUOqsmZbet
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) September 30, 2024
When healthy, Davis has mostly filled that job description and became a key reason for the Lakers’ NBA title run (2020) and appearance in the Western Conference Finals (2023). Yet, the Lakers await some new wrinkles this season.
Redick said he plans to start James and Davis with D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. Redick also envisioned using Davis as “a hub” that can operate nearly equally as both a scorer and a playmaker. Rob Pelinka, the Lakers' general manager and vice president of basketball operations, projected that Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent will be fully ready for the Lakers’ season opener against Minnesota on October 22 after nursing various injuries last season.
That development could make things easier for Davis, who often had to defend all positions seemingly at once. Because of Vincent’s injuries, Davis often needed to help Reaves and Russell to cover up their deficiencies at the point of attack. But because of Vanderbilt’s injuries, Davis often needed help to protect the paint. Too bad Davis couldn’t be everywhere at once.
“Defensively I take too much pride in myself on the defensive end to say, “Hey guys, I need [your] help.’ I try to guard whatever the matchup is one-on-one,” Davis said. “If they do get by me or something happens, then obviously the help is there. But I just want to watch us be a top team, top five defense this year. I’ll be happy for that.”
How efficient the Lakers play offensively will significantly depend on Davis, too.
Technically, Davis took only two 3s during the Paris Olympics. Last season, Lakers former coach Darvin Ham initially said he wanted Davis to take six 3s per game before both sides downplayed that goal. So it might be a stretch that Davis will suddenly become a 3-point specialist.
But Davis seems receptive toward further adapting his game partly because he considers Redick to be “one of the best shooters ever to play.” Davis said "it's nothing new" for him to become a playmaker after assuming that role during his time in New Orleans (2012-19). And Davis added that he shared with Pelinka that Redick’s basketball philosophies and schemes impressed him when the two talked about the team’s head-coaching vacancy.
“I try to work on everything. There is nothing in my game that I can’t polish or touch up,” Davis said. “When I’m working out, I try to hit every facet of my game.”
By doing so, perhaps Davis diversifies his game enough for Redick to feature him as the offense’s hub. Perhaps Davis excels enough on defense that he will finally win a Defensive Player of the Year award.
“I don’t stress too much over that,” Davis said. “It’s not like I’m in consideration for things, anyway. I don’t know how. But I don’t let that bother me. I just go out there and play basketball and focus on if our team wins and if we’re able to get enough of those and play at a high level as a unit. I’m pretty sure that stuff will happen, but that’s not my focus.”
Mark Medina is a Lakers/Clippers columnist for The Sporting Tribune.
