Tag: Anthony Davis

Notre Dame forward reaches stat line achieved only by Anthony Davis

Quite a comparison.

As excited as Notre Dame fans are about [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] and [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], they want to look at a third potential star if they aren’t already. Freshman forward [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag] was inserted into the starting lineup during the Irish’s season opener and has been nothing short of phenomenal.

Through three games, Koval has a total of 40 points, 33 rebounds, eight assists and 15 blocks. According to OptaSTATS, only one other Division I freshman, men or women, has achieved at least that stat line over that span. That freshman is Anthony Davis, who did it in his final three games with Kentucky en route to the 2012 national championship.

Davis’ stat line objectively was better at 42 points, 41 rebounds, eight assists and 17 blocks. That won him the Most Outstanding Player award.

Only time will tell whether Koval can keep up this level of production. That she already is drawing comparisons to Davis this early though indicates that the Irish might have hit yet another home run with her.

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Anthony Davis took a not-so-subtle shot at Rudy Gobert with his DPOY comments

Anthony Davis just launched his DPOY campaign.

After a dominant win by the Los Angeles Lakers over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Opening Night, fans heard from Anthony Davis.

The nine-time All-Star played a particularly great game, finishing with 36 points and 16 rebounds as well as 3 blocks and 1 steal. It was a masterful performance by Davis, who played well against Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert.

Davis, who also defeated Gobert when Team USA won a gold medal over Team France during the 2024 Paris Olympics, spoke about his game after the win. He took a not-so-subtle shot at Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner.

Davis said that he personally displayed “Defensive Player of the Year type stuff” during the win over Minnesota.

He regularly scored over Gobert, including on crucial jumpers:

Gobert finished with just 1 block and no steals, scoring 13 points in the loss.

Davis had some majorly impactful moments against Gobert, like this block:

Even though Victor Wembanyama is the favorite to win the NBA’s DPOY, perhaps Davis could return far better value.

Davis (+2200) is more of a sleeper than some of the frontrunners but if he plays like he did in the season opener, he will have a serious chance to win it.

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ESPN’s Top 100 NBA players list is loaded with former Wildcats

There are 12 former Kentucky basketball players in ESPN’s top 100 NBA players list.

Kentucky basketball has placed a lot of players in the NBA in recent years. Many of those players went on to become star players, some Olympians, and some NBA All-Stars and NBA Champions.

Recently, ESPN released their rankings of the top 100 players going into the 2024-25 season. It’s not surprising, at least to Kentucky fans, that a good number of them are former Wildcats. In fact, 12 of the top 100 played at Kentucky in college.

Related: Kentucky basketball is number 23 in AP Poll

Their highest-rated former Wildcat is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at number four overall. He’s up from number eight in 2023.

Anthony Davis is number 13, while Devin Booker came in just behind him at 15. Bam Adebayo and 18 and Tyrese Maxey at 19 round out the Cats in the top 20.

De’Aaron Fox and Karl-Anthony Towns are both in the top 30, at 26 and 30 respectively. Guard Jamal Murray is number 31, while Julius Randle comes in just inside the top 50 at number 48.

The final three on the list are Immanuel Quickly at number 64, Malik Monk at 65, and Tyler Herro at 76.

Big Blue Nation is proud of all their former players, including the ones who made the list. Next year, maybe there will be even more.

JJ Redick’s Lakers’ starting lineup shows how far the team has already come since Darvin Ham

These are exactly the five players that the Lakers should have in the starting lineup.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick revealed the starting lineup for his team heading into his first season with the franchise.

During a podcast appearance with his former ESPN colleague Zach Lowe, the longtime NBA sharpshooter said that he already knows the first unit for the Lakers. It includes Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis.

James and Davis once again proved themselves as two of the best players in the world during the 2024 Paris Olympics, helping lead Team USA to win a gold medal against France. The rest of the starting lineup for Redick is well-suited to complement those two stars.

As noted by Redick, the five players mentioned above went “23-10” during their games together last season.

When he was head coach of the Lakers, per Basketball-Reference.com, Ham did not play this five-man group until January 21. That realization somehow took until more than halfway through the season.

But starting from when this group began playing together, it became one of the best high-volume five-man lineups in the league.

Los Angeles has outscored opponents by 9.46 points per 100 possessions in the 547 minutes that this unit has played alongside one another, via PBPStats. It is a data-backed group that performs well on both sides of the ball.

Redick is making the right choice to put these players together and we can only imagine how much better these past two seasons could have looked if fans saw more of it from Ham.

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Ohio State football makes top 12 for linebacker

Ohio State football makes top 12 for linebacker #GoBucks

Ohio State football is making strides with its 2026 recruiting class and have made the final 12 of one highly sought after recruit. Anthony Davis is a four-star linebacker from the state of Georgia and has cut his list down to a dozen including the Buckeyes as well as a few other Big Ten powers like Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, and USC.

He announced his narrowed down list on X earlier in the week and although most expect him to stay closer to home, Ohio State is hoping to make a push for the star linebacker. All of the hype surrounding the Buckeye 2026 class is really focused on wide receiver, Chris Henry Jr., and rightfully so, but the class will be more than just one guy and Davis would be a great addition.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Josh Keatley on X.

Alabama lands in top 12 for 2026 4-star LB Anthony Davis

On Tuesday, 2026 four-star linebacker Anthony Davis released his top 12 schools list. Alabama was one of the schools that made the list.

The Alabama Crimson Tide coaching staff has already made it a priority to recruit prospects in the 2026 recruiting class. On Tuesday, Alabama landed in the top 12 for 2026 four-star linebacker Anthony Davis. Other SEC programs that made the cut were the Auburn Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, Tennessee Volunteers, and Texas Longhorns.

Davis has made one trip to Tuscaloosa. The trip was prior to the arrival of the new coaching staff. The school that he has visited the most is Auburn. He has made four trips to Auburn.

Davis plays for Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. He is listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. As a sophomore, Davis recorded 67 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. Through the first four games of his junior season, Davis has tallied 32 tackles, four tackles for loss, and one sack. He is a key part of a Rams defense that has started the 2024 season with a 3-1 record.

https://Twitter.com/AnthonyDavis077/status/1833617157470470150

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest regarding Davis’ recruitment process and Alabama’s efforts on the recruiting trail.

Auburn hosting several top recruits for California game

As Auburn takes on California on Saturday, the Tigers will host some of the nation’s top recruits in the 2025 and 2026 classes at the game

Auburn football hosts the California Golden Bears on Saturday in the return game of a home-and-home series which saw the Tigers win the first matchup 14-10 in 2023.

Auburn home games have become a hot commodity for recruits to attend throughout the season, and this Saturday’s game is proving to be no different as head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] is in the midst of many recruiting battles for both the classes of 2025 and 2026.

Two of the most notable recruits in attendance will be a Notre Dame quarterback commit [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] and Tennessee wide receiver commit [autotag]Travis Smith[/autotag].

According to the On3 industry rankings, both players are rated as four-stars in the 2025 class, but the Tigers are doing whatever they can to try and flip these talented prospects. That is especially true for Knight as this his second straight week on the Plains.

2026 EDGE [autotag]Anthony Jones[/autotag] from St. Paul’s Episcopal (Ala.) will also be in attendance this weekend as the lone five-star of the group. He is ranked as the No. 7 player in his class while also being the No. 1 overall EDGE and player in the state of Alabama.

Amongst the other 2026 targets that will be there are four-stars in linebacker [autotag]Anthony Davis[/autotag], running back [autotag]Carsyn Baker[/autotag] and quarterback [autotag]Luke Fahey[/autotag].

Auburn’s 2025 recruiting class is currently ranked at No. 5 in the nation with an average class score of 92.14. The 2026 class is also on the rise, being No. 3 in the country with an rating of 92.79.

The Tigers hope that a win can help rise their status amongst some of these athletes and possibly earn a commitment in the near future.

Auburn’s game against Cal is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CST in Jordan-Hare Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Tyler on Twitter @traley34

Anthony Davis is ranked in ESPN’s top 5 preseason DPOY rankings

Former Kentucky basketball star Anthony Davis is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate by ESPN.

Former Kentucky Wildcats power forward and star of the Los Angeles Lakers Anthony Davis has been one of the best player in the NBA for over a decade now but is missing one thing from his resume, a Defensive Player of the Year award.

Davis has made nine All-Star teams, four All-NBA teams and four All-Defense teams, the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team and has two Olympic gold medals, but will this be the year he wins the award for DPOTY?

Davis is one of the favorites to win the Defensive Player of the Year award next season according to ESPN. They ranked Davis as the fourth-most likely player to win the DPOY award next season.

The 2023 Defensive Player of The Year award went to Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert for the fourth time in his future Hall of Fame career. The runners up being Frenchman and Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and another former Kentucky Wildcat Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat.

Related: ESPN predicts Reed Sheppard as Rookie of the Year

Davis, after the nominees were announced last season wasn’t shy about his omission with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:

I’ll never get [the award]. They’re not giving it to me. The league doesn’t like me. 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.

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.

Last season, Davis averaged 24.7 points, 3.5 assists, 2.3 blocks, and a career-high 12.6 rebounds per game.

Watch: Popular doctor on how LeBron James, Anthony Davis will navigate 2024-25 season after Olympics

After playing in the Olympics, LeBron James and Anthony Davis will have to find a way to avoid fatigue and injury this coming NBA season.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are fresh off helping to lead Team USA men’s basketball to an Olympic gold medal. After getting their gold medals on Aug. 10, they had less than two months to get ready for training camp with the Los Angeles Lakers.

While they should be applauded for their patriotism, some have been concerned about how their Olympic commitment could affect their health and energy during the upcoming NBA season. That concern is especially valid for James, who is 39 years of age and going into his 23rd NBA season.

Dr. Rajpal Brar, a physical therapist and strength and conditioning specialist who runs Los Angeles-based 3CB Performance, broke down how the Lakers’ superstar duo will need to navigate the rest of the summer and this upcoming season in order to minimize fatigue.

He said James and Davis currently have a high level of fitness since they’re fresh off of the Summer Games, which will make it easier for them to get in shape for training camp. However, their ramp-up to peak NBA game conditioning and intensity will need to be curtailed during the early stages of the season to prevent the type of fatigue that would be detrimental.

That may have to mean limiting their playing time, especially for James.

An example Dr. Brar mentioned is Lakers guard Austin Reaves. Reaves played for Team USA last summer in the FIBA World Cup, which meant he didn’t really have an offseason he could use for rest and recovery. As a result, he had a couple of stretches during the first few months of the season where he struggled mightily with his 3-point shot, which is a telltale sign of fatigue for NBA players.

Overall, it worked out for Reaves, as he remained healthy, played in all 82 games and improved his scoring, rebounding and assists averages. Only time will tell if James and Davis will avoid injury and continue to play at an elite level during the 2024-25 season.

Tim Bontemps feels the Lakers have been terribly run, poorly built around LeBron James and Anthony Davis

NBA reporter Tim Bontemps had some harsh but at least partially true words about the Lakers’ inability to maximize their superstar duo.

For the last five seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers have had arguably the best and most talented superstar duo in the NBA in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Yet during that time, the results have been somewhat disappointing.

While they won a world championship in 2020, they have also missed the playoffs once and had to go through the play-in tournament in each of the other three seasons they have had the two future Hall of Famers.

For a franchise that consistently contended with other Hall of Fame duos such as Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, it seems rather weak.

NBA reporter Tim Bontemps, upon seeing how well James and Davis played in helping Team USA win an Olympic gold medal, said the Lakers have done a very poor job in maximizing the two. He made his comments while on “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” recently (h/t Sports Illustrated).

“Maybe the single biggest takeaway for me from this whole tournament is that it showed to me how terribly the Lakers have been run for most of the past several years…The fact that the team has been built so poorly around him and Anthony Davis that they have been an afterthought the vast majority of the run and especially the past few years… With him and AD it remains unfathomable that this team is irrelevant and that’s what they are. Is irrelevant.”

James averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds a game while Davis put up 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots a game this past season. Yet the Lakers won a modest 47 games, giving them the eighth-best record in the Western Conference.

This offseason, they hired James’ good friend and podcast co-host JJ Redick to be their head coach while drafting James’ son Bronny with the No. 55 pick. While some feel the moves could pay off, others feel the moves are a sign that it is amateur hour in the team’s front office and that it has bent over to all of the elder James’ whims.

It remains to be seen if L.A. will make one final push to win it all again in James’ remaining time with the team.