Former NBA superstar Kevin Garnett appears to be tired of waiting for Anthony Davis to be as consistently dominant as he believes the Lakers big man is capable of. In turn, the former Timberwolves and Celtics All-Pro is calling out Davis with some lofty expectations.
During a recent episode of KG Certified on Showtime Basketball, Garnett discussed Davis and what he wants to see the 30-year-old big man do within the next two years. The short and simple breakdown? Win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. Garnett made a few strong statements to support his comments.
“I’m expecting Anthony Davis to be MVP in these next two years … it’s time, it’s time, you can’t let Joker [Nikola Jokić] come in the league and surpass [you],” Garnett said. “Anthony Davis can do everything they can do. Anthony Davis can do everything Joker can do, he can do everything Embiid can do. … I’m expecting him to be MVP if not this year, definitely next year.
“And he’s going to have to take the reins of ‘Yeah, I’m the best player in the league.’”
Pushing for Davis to showcase the upside he’s put on display often throughout his career on a more consistent basis is fair. But the comments on Davis’s ability to do everything Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid can jumps off the page.
Davis has averaged north of 23.2 points in all but one of the previous nine seasons, with the lone outlier coming in 2020–21 with Los Angeles, when he played just 36 games. The Lakers star averaged 25.9 points last season, tied for the fourth-most in a single season of his career. He also posted career-best numbers in rebounds per game (12.5) and field goal percentage (56.3%), so the arrow is certainly pointing in the right direction for the Lakers big man.
