Anthony Davis is terrifying. Everyone knows, but it’s worth remembering the genesis of that knowledge because at some point in our oversaturated consciousness we started to take AD for granted.
Flashback to three years ago when 21-year-old Davis led the Pelicans to the playoffs. Good lord, was he something back then. Remember that double-clutch buzzer-beater against the
Thunder? Or how about the 31-and-13 against the Spurs on the last day of the regular season that sent New Orleans into the postseason?
And then against the Warriors, when he scored 126 points in four games vs. the eventual champs. We all knew then the age of AD was upon us and it was only a matter of time
Time has a funny way of working in the NBA. It’s been only two and a half years since that inspired run, but Davis picked the worst time to take a step back. His struggles were relative — 24-and-10 is only a down year in the world in which Davis lives — but they were magnified by the rise of the next generation of prodigies.
As the Pelicans struggled through a pair of unsatisfying seasons, Davis aged out of the current clique of cool kids. He posted staggering numbers again last season, but few noticed in a playoff-less vacuum.