Anthony Davis Earning Early MVP Recommendations: Can the Lakers Star Really Win the Michael Jordan Award?

The Los Angeles Lakers’ unbeaten streak ended in the season’s fourth game. Playing at home, the Phoenix Suns beat them 109-105. The Lakers started the game with a 34-point outburst in the first quarter, and it was, in large part, due to their starting center. Yes, they blew an 18-point lead and lost the game, but Anthony Davis had another stellar night, narrowly missing out on his 4th 30-point game in a row. He had 29 points with 15 rebounds.

AD has been on a dream run to start the regular season. In four games, he is averaging 32.8 points per game. He also registered 12 rebounds per game while shooting 55% from the field. Needless to say, the 9x All-Star is getting MVP shouts early in the season. The crowd at the crypto.com arena has chanted for it every time he went to the free-throw line in the first three games as well.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson took to X and congratulated the 31-year-old for a stellar start to the season after the LA side defeated the Kings.

“My Dodgers and Lakers gave me another great night with their two victories! LeBron James put on a show tonight finishing with a triple double – 32 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists with 16 points in the fourth quarter alone! And AD continued his MVP start to the season with his 31 point performance in the Lakers win over the Kings!”

Lou Williams is also vouching for Davis’ chances of being the MVP this season. However, his co-sign comes with one condition. He believes that if AD keeps himself fit throughout the season, then no one can deny his standing in the league. On an episode of Run It Back, he said, “The only thing that’s gonna keep AD out of that conversation is being available.”

With all the praise coming his way, what are the chances of AD winning the MVP title?

Will Davis meet the criteria to become MVP?

There’s no rule set in stone to determine the season’s MVP. This is why there have been controversies regarding the MVP selection in the past. However, there are some boxes he’ll need to check to be eligible. AD will have to play at least 65 games in the regular season. The Lakers will have to be one of the top teams in terms of their winning record. AD will have to be the best player on his team.

At his current scoring rate, he is on track to get there. In the first four games, he has scored 36-16-4, 35-8-4, 31-9-2, and 29-15-3 respectively. If he continues to play with the same average, there’ll be no stopping him. Since he has taken over as the primary scorer for the Lakers, his contribution to playmaking has gone down. He needs to improve his number of assists per game a notch.

For context, last season, when Nikola Jokic won the MVP title, he averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9 assists per game while shooting 58.3% from the field and 35.9% from the three-point line. In comparison, AD’s assists and three-point shooting are far below the previous season’s MVP numbers. Adding onto these metrics will make him stand out as an overall great player.

But that’s not his biggest problem. The biggest problem for him will be what Lou Williams talked about, his availability.

Davis’ availability concerns

AD’s fitness has been a matter of grave concern for the majority of his career. The 31-year-old has played over 70 games a season only thrice in his 13-year-long career. He played 75 games a season back to back in 2016-17 and 2017-18. After that, Davis’ numbers dipped into the 50s. In the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, he played 36 and 40 games respectively.

His poor health often forces him to sit out a major chunk of games per season. However, AD turned things around last season when he played 76 games, his career-best, for the Lakers. He averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting over 55% from the field. If he wishes to win his first MVP title, he’ll have to keep himself in the same shape as last season, if not better.

As of now, he’s on the right track. However, keeping up with the consistency of performances throughout a long season isn’t going to be easy. Under JJ Redick’s coaching, AD has become the primary scorer for his team. The new head coach has talked about relying more on him and giving enough rest to LeBron James so that he can be more fit for the postseason.

As difficult as it is to keep the momentum going for the next 6-7 months, Davis has it in him to keep churning out these numbers. All he needs to do is keep his health and fitness in check and he might live up to the massive praise that’s being showered upon him. The Michael Jordan Trophy, named after arguably the greatest player of all time is worth putting everything on the line for.