Getty Anthony Davis could win his first MVP award this season.
This former NBA champion believes the 2019-20 season will be dominated by Anthony Davis.
While appearing as a guest on The Odd Couple featuring Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard and Rob Parker, Stephen Jackson — who won a title with the San Antonio Spurs during the 2002-03 season — said that the Los Angeles Lakers big man will win the MVP award this season.
He didn’t just stop there — he also compared Davis to his former Spurs teammate Tim Duncan while making his prediction.
“My MVP is Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis should’ve been the MVP the last four years. If he was on a great team, he probably should’ve won MVP,” Jackson proclaimed.
“Anthony Davis, if he’s healthy, he’s Tim Duncan on steroids. He’s athletic Tim Duncan with a 3-point ball. Can you imagine if Tim Duncan had that? So, he’s never played with the best all-around player in the game, he’s never played with a dominant player like LeBron. So, I believe that if Anthony Davis can stay healthy, with the best player on the world in his side, there’s no way they [wouldn’t] win a championship.”
Anthony Davis Has a Team Around Him For the First Time
For those that aren’t aware, Duncan is the greatest power forward of all time. So whenever your name is mentioned in the same sentence as Duncan, you know you’re darn good.
Furthermore, everything that Jackson said in his quote is true. Davis has been one of the top five players in the game for a number of years now, but he’s been held back by a lackluster New Orleans Pelicans squad.
Since entering the league in 2012, Davis has only made it to the playoffs just twice — and he’s only won one postseason series in the process. In other words, despite six All-Star appearances, three All-NBA First-Team selections, three All-Defensive Team selections and the accomplishment of leading the league in blocks on three different occasions, Davis doesn’t have any team success to show for it.
Why Anthony Davis Would Win MVP Over LeBron James
But with Davis now in Los Angeles teaming up with the greatest player of this generation in LeBron James, the sky is the absolute limit for AD. While most would assume an MVP award would be won by LeBron if the Lakers reach their potential, one has to remember that Davis has never won an MVP award.
Meanwhile, James has won four. In other words, voters tend to reward those who haven’t won the award yet.
When you factor in that James is about to turn 35 years old while Davis is still clearly in his prime, why wouldn’t AD win the award if the Lakers are indeed title favorites? Heck, James has no problem deferring to Davis. In fact, he’s already made it clear that he wants the 26-year-old big man to be the focal point of the offense.
Via Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
“I’ve kind of been a focal-point player my whole career, especially in New Orleans. But first off, to have a guy like LeBron, someone of his caliber, go tell management and ownership and the coaches that he wants me to be the focal point is an honor,” Davis told Yahoo Sports. “I know what comes with that, and that’s a lot of heavy lifting. I want to be able to do that. I think I have the capabilities of doing that. And obviously with the team’s support, it’s going to be a lot easier on me. We have a great team.”
All you need to know is this — don’t be surprised if the veteran big man walks away with his first MVP award at the conclusion of the season.