When healthy and confident, Anthony Davis has proven himself to be arguably the best defensive player in the NBA, it appears as though some people believed he didn’t even deserve to make an All-Defense team last season. And unfortunately for him, his new head coach, JJ Redick is one of those people. In his recent appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Redick was quizzed on why he felt Davis wasn’t one of the Top-10 defenders in the NBA, and would then leave out the player from his ballot for the All-Defense teams.
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Hearing that Anthony was extremely upset with his decision at the time, the 40-year-old looked to clarify what he meant. J.J. initially said that he believes AD is one of the top three defenders in the NBA at the moment. However, he then said that selection for the All-NBA teams happens in a different process altogether.
“There’s a big difference in being a top ten defender and making an All-Defense team… Anthony Davis is one of the two or three best defensive players in the NBA… You certainly have to factor in the stats, the advanced stats, and of course, the team performance on defense. And in both years [that I voted], I weighed heavily on how the team performed defensively.”
“Anthony Davis is one of the two or three best defensive players in the NBA”
JJ Redick responds to @termineradio’s question about his decision to leave the #Lakers star center off his media All-Defensive ballot with @jumpshot8 and Ryan McDonough at #NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/finX38WRBm
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 13, 2024
There are a few things that aren’t quite in Redick’s favor here, especially considering the logic of his argument. In years past, the All-Defensive teams were required to be based on the positions of players. However, last season’s selections were to be made regardless of position.
Despite this tweak to the rules, AD did not get a spot on the first, or the second team. Instead, for the first team, Redick went with Alex Caruso, Herb Jones, Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, and Bam Adebayo. For the second team, JJ chose Derrick White, Kentavios Caldwell-Pope, Jarett Allen, Jalen Suggs, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
All his picks are undoubtedly great defenders. However, it feels extremely difficult to pick anyone other than Victor Wembanyama ahead of Anthony. And even then, Wemby’s team had horrible defensive numbers overall. Of course, it doesn’t seem likely that someone with Redick’s basketball knowledge would simply forget about ‘The Brow’. So, it is likely that he simply looked past him to choose who he felt would be better.
Still, it is understandable why AD feels a certain way about not being picked by the head coach in any of the 10 spots. Fortunately for him, he made it to the first team in the NBA’s official All-Defensive list. While there was somewhat of a happy ending for the Lakers’ big man here, many still fear that this may pose an unfavorable situation between him and J.J. However, when the 31-year-old spoke on the matter recently, he seemed to be positive about the whole ordeal.
Anthony Davis’s thoughts on being coached by JJ Redick
Davis is with Team USA at the moment. However, that hasn’t stopped interviewers from asking him about his thoughts on the Lakers’ new head coach. Seeming ready to adapt to whatever this new situation throws at him, he said,
“It’s going to be, definitely a partnership with him, his coaching staff… and me and Bron [LeBron James]. Just kinda seeing what we like. And then also him, what he brings to the table, you know, what he wants to do. And then, just try to put it in the end together. We know it’s not going to be done in one day, one week, one month. But we just got to… take it one day at a time” [per Lakers Nation]
AD then also made sure to point out that the team still has an NBA championship on its mind. However, at the same time, they are aware that adapting to a new process won’t be complete as soon as the conclusion of the training camp. Instead, he made it clear that being an NBA head coach for the first time, J.J. would take time to adjust, and that the team also would adjust with him.
Of course, if there was some kind of conflict, Davis likely wouldn’t be forthcoming with it to the media. However, judging by his answer, he does seem to be ready to help Redick as much as he can, something the newly minted coach will probably appreciate very much.
