Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves are responsible for the Los Angeles Lakers miraculously turning things around last season. Nobody imagined they could reach the Western Conference Finals. Moreover, nobody thought the Lakers would make the postseason at one point. But the Lakers’ front office brought major changes to the roster right before the February trade deadline.

Then the 17-time champions looked like they were in business. However, the new emerging star of the Lakers, Austin Reaves, believes that AD does not get enough credit as the leader of the defense. Moreover, fans mainly look at his scoring every game but not the blocks or steal that often.

Austin Reaves Believe Anthony Davis Doesn’t Get Enough Credit As A Rim Protector

Recently, the Oklahoma Sooners kid came to the podcast, All The Smoke. In the podcast, he told Matt Barnes, a former Laker, and Stephen Jackson how valuable AD is as a point guard. Moreover, Austin Reaves mentioned that, undoubtedly, it is great to have Anthony Davis on the team, mainly in the defense. Adding to that, Reaves mentioned that it is a blessing to have AD as a rim protector. That allows other players like Reaves himself to be more aggressive and physical. If the opponents get in the paint, they will have a tough time getting two points. Arguably, Austin Reaves believes Anthony Davis is the most skilled player right behind LeBron James.

More or less, Austin is right on the money in his assessment that Anthony Davis is an invaluable player as a big man in the Laker’s roster. He became the anchor of the Laker’s defense but was also the spearhead of the team’s attack. Anthony Davis helped the team become the strongest defensive side in the 2022-23 season. Albeit, it turned out not strong enough in front of the strongest offensive side. The Denver Nuggets blew the Los Angeles Lakers away 4-0 in the Western Conference Finals. But nobody can deny the vast improvement in the Laker’s side from the start of the season. A lot of credit goes to the front office as well as to Anthony Davis.

AD Is A Potential Future Hall Of Famer

However, there is the strong presence of the all-time scoring leader, LeBron James, who performed exceedingly well at 38. But many experts and fans believe that if Anthony Davis is not 100% healthy, then the Lakers won’t be able to win the title next year. Moreover, AD proved himself time and again that he is a worthy future Hall of Famer over the course of his 11 NBA seasons. But the team lacked the availability of Anthony Davis for a while because of a stress injury.

However, when he returned to the lineup, AD showed the Lakers a way to climb up from the 13th place in the Western Conference. Later, he led the team to finish the regular season as the seventh seed. But why does the Laker’s front office like him so much? It is because since he joined the team in 2019, he helped the Lakers win their 17th title. Moreover, AD played the whole season with an ankle injury. He proved that he is tenacious and a worthy leader who the Lakers Nation can look up to after LeBron James retires.                 

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