In a recent interview with Shams Charania, Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis made a bold statement about San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
When asked out the Defensive Player of the Year Award, Davis said that the narrative is being pushed for Wembanyama to win it.
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The two bigs have been dominant this year, respectively. Davis is averaging 25.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. Wembanyama is averaging 24.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 4.0 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.
Wembanyama is leading the NBA in blocks with four per game, and he’s contributing a steal per game as well. These numbers are not common amongst players, and he’s only in his second season.
Anthony Davis has been in the conversation for the award for some years now, but has truly been under the radar.
A big reason why he hasn’t won the award is his durability. It’s rare that he even plays over 60 games in a regular season.
To his narrative opinion, it is true that certain narratives are pushed for the Defensive Player of the Year award. The center position has gotten prioritized more than other positions for the illustrious award, but Wembanyama is a completely different story.
The Spurs All-Star is third in defensive rating this season with a stellar rating of 104.9. Anthony Davis is in thirteenth place with a rating of 108.3. By these stats, Davis doesn’t deserve the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
As great as Davis is, he’s no Victor Wembanyama this season. He takes over games defensively like no other, and teams have to game plan around his presence.
