Monday was a great day to wake up a Lakers fan, as last night the team took a commanding 2-0 lead in their Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets. The game ended in dramatic fashion, as Anthony Davis cemented his first legendary Lakers playoff moment with a buzzer-beater three to win the game 105-103. The moment had some added levity to it as the team did it in Kobe Bryant’s designed jerseys, with Davis ending the game in true Mamba fashion. He even yelled “Kobe!” afterward towards the Lakers, an exclamation shared across the game of basketball for nailing a hard shot. The moment especially impressed Lakers veteran Rajon Rondo, who had the following to say about Davis after the game (reported by Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen & Roll):
“He’s arguably the best scorer in our game. Seven-feet tall, can take bigs off the dribble, he can post smalls. He’s a foul magnet, he’s shooting 99% from the line, so he’s definitely a great option to have.”
From the jump, it’s an immense compliment to be talked about as the “best scorer” in the NBA by anyone. This is a league with Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and James Harden. I didn’t even mention the currently injured Kevin Durant or even Davis’ teammate LeBron James, or the rest of the amazing scorers in today’s NBA. The compliment is even greater coming from Rajon Rondo who has played with the likes of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jimmy Butler in their primes.
Rondo definitely couldn’t have given the compliment at a more opportune time. In the playoffs so far, Davis is averaging 28.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 blocks. On his career, he is averaging 29.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game in the playoffs. Last night he ended the game with 31 points on 11/23 shooting (2-for-4 from three) with 9 rebounds and a plus/minus of +8. His playoff performance so far has gone under the radar, but people will probably take more notice now after his insane buzzer-beater.
