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Anthony Davis has received several accolades in his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers. While Davis finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting after Giannis Antetokounmpo, he still finished the regular season with two Player of the Week awards, a First Team Defensive honor and an NBA First Team honor.
Those accolades go a long way towards building a Hall of Fame resume, and with the career Davis has had to date, he’s well on his way. However, there is only one piece of hardware that Davis is concerned about taking home this season: the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
“It’s always an honor to be on an All-NBA team, even more so on the first team, so it’s always an honor,” Davis said after practice Thursday. “But we know what the bigger goal is, especially for me, to win a championship. Anytime I can get other awards along the way, it’s definitely an honor. Not many people can say that it was the first team, much less an All-NBA team, and I have been able to do it several times. It has been an honor for me.
“But I can’t lose track and get excited about it and not remember what the end goal is. I think having a championship trumps everything, any other award. That has been my way of thinking “
That mindset has worked for Davis so far. Through 10 playoff appearances this season, Davis has averaged 27.6 points on 58.6% shooting from the field, including 39.1% shooting from behind the arc. Both shooting percentages are postseason highs for him.
Davis has also averaged 10.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals. The only other player who has averaged at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, a block and a steal in the postseason this year is his teammate LeBron James. It’s no wonder the Lakers are just eight wins away from securing the championship.
Davis has been everything Lakers fans could have asked for this season, if not more, and while it can be argued that he should have at least one more award to his name, it’s clear there is only one he cares about. It goes without saying, but Lakers fans would be happy with just one too.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast at iTunes, Spotify, Stapler or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.
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