In the eyes of many basketball fans,Anthony Davis is one of the most dominant defensive players in the NBA. Ever since his rookie year, the former University of Kentucky star has increased his level on the court, and he believes he deserved more recognition.
On Sunday, the league announced the finalists for their seven individual awards, including Defensive Player of the Year. TheLos Angeles Lakers player was not in the list of three players that appear as candidates, and he was not happy about it.
“I’ll never get it, they’re not giving it to me. The league doesn’t like me,” Davis said in an interview with ESPNs Dave McMenamin. “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.“
In the 2023-2024 season,Anthony Davis finished third in rebounds per game and fourth in blocks per game. He played a career high 76 regular season games. In 12 NBA seasons he has been crown blocks champion three times, and he has been selected four times to the All-Defensive team.
Does David have a chance to ever win DPOY?
He is 31 years old and injuries have been a part of his career, however his defensive game has gotten better when healthy. With that said, the frustration of not being recognized by the league builds up and at this point of his life, he seems to be done with that matter.
Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama and Bam Adebayo are the three finalists for Defensive Player of the Year.
“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.”
The Lakers are in the middle of a first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets and they will definitely need Anthony Davis’s defense, as they are looking for revenge after they were swept by this same team in the Western Conference Finals last year.
