Getty Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets drives against Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers All-Star center Anthony Davis accused the league of not liking him as he was left off of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year list of finalists.
“I’ll never get it,” Davis told ESPN when asked about 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.”
Davis failed to make the final list led by three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert despite finishing the regular season as one of the only two players who averaged two blocks and one steal.
Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo and top Rookie of the Year candidate Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio Spurs are the other two finalists.
Davis averaged 2.3 blocks and 1.2 steals this season.
“I can block shots, I can help from the weak side, I can switch onto anybody, I can guard the pick-and-roll, I can guard the guard and get back on the big and break up the lob, I can guard the post, I can guard the pindown,” Davis told ESPN. “Whatever it is. Whatever it is defensively, I’m able to do.”
Davis has never won the award. He was a finalist on only two occasions and the closest he came to winning it was during the 2019-20 season when Giannis Antetokounmpo beat him.
Anthony Davis Ready to Defend Nikola Jokic for 48 Minutes
Davis only defended two-time MVP Nikola Jokic in short spurts in Game 1 but when he was on him, the Denver Nuggets superstar only shot 2 of 7, per NBA’s matchup tracker.
Jokic feasted on his Lakers primary defender, Rui Hachimura, going 8 of 10 from the field.
“We’ll make a proper adjustment going into Game 2,” Davis told ESPN. “And if that means I’m on [Jokic] for the whole game, then so be it.”
Davis and Jokic canceled each other out in scoring as both All-Star big men had 32 points apiece.
Christian Wood Plans to Return in Game 3
Davis and the Lakers are about to get frontcourt help as backup center Christian Wood plans to return from a knee injury in Game 3, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham neither confirmed nor denied the report. But he said Wood, who has been out since February 14, has a couple of more boxes to check before he would be cleared to return.
“All I’ll say is he’s still going through his recovery process from injury, his rehab process,” Ham said of Wood on a conference call with reporters. “Obviously, he has size, he has length, he has rebounding capabilities, he can stretch the floor. But first and foremost, he has a couple more boxes to check before we even consider that.”
Wood averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting 46.6% from the field and 30.7% from the 3-point range in 50 regular season games.