Lakers News: Where Anthony Davis Fits In Latest Sports Illustrated Player Rankings

Lakers forward Anthony Davis drops rankings due to injury concerns but still remains a top 20 player
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When it is all said and done, Lakers forward Anthony Davis will go down as one of the most skilled players the league has ever seen. Unfortunately, Davis career has been taking a steady decline since winning his first championship with the Lakers.

Davis has been considered an injury prone player for the majority of his career to the point where fans ridicule him for being on the sidelines. Despite the negative outlook Davis has been given, he still cracks the top 20 players this season (via Sports Illustrated Top 100 Rankings).

"After the Lakers’ championship run, Davis hasn’t been able to capture the form he flashed his first year in Los Angeles. His three-point shooting has dipped precipitously (26% in 2021, 18.6% in ’22) and injuries have derailed his seasons (Davis has played in only 76 regular-season games since the ’20 Finals). Davis is still a top-tier defender and offensive threat. But he seems to be far away from the player who once seemed destined to be in MVP conversations."

Davis enters enters year 11 as the 18th ranked player in the league. Despite appearing in just 76 games over the past two seasons, Davis has still averaged 22.0 points per game with 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game during that span.

Numbers that don't pop out like they used to for the former MVP candidate but still worthy enough of consideration to be the face of the franchise once LeBron James inevitably calls it a career. 

Davis' ranking puts him two spots above Heat center Bam Adebayo and one spot ahead of Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who has also been criticized in his young career for injuries. 


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Ryan Menzie
RYAN MENZIE

Ryan Menzie | Lead Contributor Ryan is an LA Native who has grown up praising the greatest athletes LA has had to offer. A love for sports ranging between basketball, football, volleyball and golf, a future Sports Management Masters graduate, and being engulfed into organized sports since seven years old, the passion and love for sports never ends for Ryan. If the words he writes don't paint the full picture of his true fandom, he will find more ways than one to tell the story and be more than willing to open up a nice LA sports debate with you. Favorite Player: Kobe Bryant  Favorite Moment: Kobe Bryant Final Game. Too many moments to choose from between Derek Fishers 0.4 second buzzer beater, the Lakers 3-peat or game seven against Boston, but can't beat a final memory like Kobe's final game.