The love and respect for the game is something one assumes it as a must for professional athletes. While most players carry those feelings with them from the start, many don’t fall in love with the game until later in life. This was the case with Anthony Davis, who recently revealed what made him fall in love with the game of basketball while talking to D’Angelo Russell.
Advertisement
Anthony Davis recently sat down with his teammate and All-Star point guard D’Angelo Russell for an episode of The Backyard Podcast. That’s when AD narrated the entire story of what made him fall in love with the game.
“Going into my junior year of High School. When I can’t even get up cause I was like six feet, 6’1, 6’2, goggles. I actually was a shooter, I just shot like I couldn’t do anything else. I wasn’t tall enough, I wasn’t the biggest Kid. I was super skinny and I just shot the basketball.”
Davis went on to reveal how one of his mentors asked him to try out for his team in Chicago. But after coming to the tryouts and witnessing the amount of difference in terms of talent, a young Anthony Davis was shocked and appalled.
The Los Angeles Lakers forward was invited to try out for the team a second time but had second thoughts after his first visit. However, Davis’ father was the one who stepped in and convinced him to give it another shot.
His first game in the tournament was against LeBron James’ team where he posted 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 6 minutes of playing time on the floor. And that was when AD realized he could make something of himself in the world of basketball.
“I play like six minutes, roll my ankle. At this time I got like 10 and 10. So they like, ‘Who this?’ Right? Mind you, my class had Austin Rivers, Brad Beal, Michael Keegan. So, we got hoopers…Come back home after that tournament and I got a couple of scholarships. And that’s when I was like I can do this for real and that’s when I started like really taking it seriously.”
Anthony Davis had started playing basketball but it wasn’t until his junior year that AD had his insane growth spurt. His growth spurt eventually got paired with his skills on the court. But what made Davis change his mind was his performance in that tournament.
Playing against LeBron James’ team and notching up a double-double in just six minutes made Anthony Davis realize that he could very well make it big in basketball and he did not look back ever since, becoming the number one prospect in the country and eventually being drafted as the first overall pick in the NBA draft.
Anthony Davis’ love for the game
During his high school days, Davis bounced around quite a lot, hoping to achieve some recognition for his game. The 6’10 forward played in numerous other tournaments like McDonald’s All-American, Jordan Classic, and the Nike Hoop Summit.
Davis put up impressive numbers as a high school kid that eventually got him the attention that he deserved. He even notched a double-double in the Nike Hoop Summit and a 29-point performance in the Jordan Classic tournament.
By the time Davis made his way to college, he played a total of 40 games with the team. During his 40-game stint, AD averaged 14.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG and 4.7 BPG. Such numbers automatically pushed him to benign the number one draft prospect in the country.
Davis spent a year in Kentucky before declaring for the NBA draft. He got drafted as the number one overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans and the rest is history.
