As quickly as Anthony Davis shot up from a six-foot tall wing playing freshman in High School, expectations of what the now 6-foot-10 big man from Kentucky could soon be on the next level are rising even quicker.
In a recent Sports Illustrated article, Sam Amick quoted one Western Conference General Manager who said that Davis is probably going to be better than Blake Griffin. Before you say something about Blake’s post-up game, just be reminded that he still is an All Star, a young Shawn Kemp without the kids, and there are only actually twenty-four NBA All Stars every season in total.
Another Western Conference GM polled in the piece said that probably only six players in this “deep draft” have a chance to one day become stars too. That’s why, even in what’s perceived to be it’s deepest form, the NBA draft is still a crap-shoot. With the exception of Davis of course, it seems.
At least according too one General Manager, who even went as far as saying he thinks Davis will go on to be better than one of the greatest Power Forwards to ever play the position in NBA history.
This from Sam Amick at SI:
For all the reluctance to handicap the whole lot, Davis is inspiring some bold predictions from men who typically resist hyperbole. An Eastern Conference executive noted that the 220-pound Davis will need to get stronger to assert himself at the next level, but that was the closest anyone interviewed came to criticizing him.
One of the West general managers said Davis “is probably going to be better than Blake Griffin,” and his GM colleague upped the ante by saying he expects him to be better than 14-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett.
“There’s not one doubt in my mind that he’s going to be way better than Blake Griffin,” the second GM said. “I don’t even think it’s going to be close. I think he might end up being a little better than KG.
“He may be the quiet, humble [player] who’s not as great as Tim Duncan, but [he’ll be] that kind of a person, and maybe have the game to back it up. I don’t think he gets to that [Duncan] level, but he’s going to be pretty good.”
So not as good as Tim Duncan, maybe the best Power Forward to ever play the position in NBA history and arguably a top-10 player all time, but somewhere a little better than Kevin Garnett. A forty-seven year All Star, NBA champion, first ballot Hall of Famer, and a guy who changed the game when first jumped on the scene out of High School way back in the day for Minnesota. Anthony Davis will be “a little better” than that guy.
If you want to get him though, tanking alone won’t get that done. You’re going to need to win that lottery at the end of this month too. Good luck.
