Anthony Davis: From NCAA Champion to NBA Superstar
Anthony Davis's journey to NBA stardom began long before he was winning NBA All-Star Game MVP awards, earning All-Defensive first team selections, and leading the league in blocks. His dominance was evident during his time in the NCAA, particularly during his single season with the Kentucky Wildcats.
High School Ascension
Anthony Davis's rise in high school was remarkable, both literally and figuratively. He experienced a significant growth spurt, adding roughly eight inches in just a year and a half. According to the Herald and Review in Decatur, Illinois, this growth helped him transition from a "medium-size prep player to a top performer."
Even in what the Chicago Tribune called his worst game of his senior season, Davis showcased his potential with 13 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks, and five steals.
Davis attended Perspectives Math & Science Academy (MSA), a charter school known for its strong academic program rather than athletic success. At the start of Davis's senior year, the team was 1-7, ultimately finishing with only six wins. Despite the team's struggles, Davis averaged an impressive 32 points, 18 rebounds, seven blocks, four assists, and four steals per game, according to the Chicago Tribune. Notably, his high school didn't even have a gym.
In 2011, Davis finished fourth in the Illinois Mr. Basketball voting, behind Ryan Boatright, Chasson Randle, and Wayne Blackshear.
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It's important to remember that Anthony Davis played as a guard through his junior year of high school. This unique background contributed to his exceptional skill set, as he arrived at Kentucky at 6-10 but had only been that tall for about a year. He was a fluid, athletic big man who was unselfish on offense and ferocious on defense.
Kentucky coach John Calipari noted, "I've been blessed. I've had two…Marcus Camby was 6-3, went to 6-10 in a year. Anthony Davis went from 6-3 to 6-10 in a year. So what you have is a guard-skilled, nimble player in a big man's body. If there are any other young people out there who go from 6-3 to 6-10 I'd like another one. They are different, they are unique."
Dominance at Kentucky
Davis committed to the Kentucky Wildcats, coached by John Calipari. Before his college career even began, he was already being discussed as a potential first overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.
During his freshman season in 2012, Davis achieved remarkable success, winning National Player of the Year, the NCAA championship, and NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. Kentucky went 38-2 in 2011-12. Their losses came against an Indiana team led by Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller in the final seconds of play and to Vanderbilt in the SEC championship game.
Davis wore No. 23, which he had worn since high school, because Michael Jordan had worn it.
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Davis averaged 4.65 blocks per game in his lone season for the Wildcats. He ranks first in NCAA history for blocks in a season as a freshman with 186, which ranks fourth all-time in NCAA history for blocks in a season among all Division I players. Davis had eight games with seven or more rejections.
Davis attempted just 20 3-pointers as a freshman and made only three of them, so his offensive game was mostly based inside the arc, especially in the lane.
Davis recorded 20 double-doubles in 40 games as a freshman at Kentucky, when he led the near-perfect Wildcats in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, steals and field goal percentage. His first game in college was a 23-point, 10-rebound, five-block, three-assist performance against Marist, while making 10-of-13 field goal attempts, making him just the third freshman in Kentucky history to have a 20-10 game in his debut (along with Sam Bowie and Terrence Jones). Davis' season-high was 28 points against Vanderbilt, when he was an incredibly efficient 10-of-11 from the floor, along with 11 rebounds and five blocks. He once grabbed 18 rebounds against Chattanooga and on two occasions, he had eight blocks in a game. Just look at his game on the road at Georgia in late January 2012, when he was just 1-for-2 from the field but grabbed 11 rebounds and had five blocks. He didn't need a high shot volume to be incredibly effective. Davis recorded 18 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks against Louisville in the Final Four in a game in which ESPN Stats & Info noted that the Cardinals missed 16 layups and dunks.
Calipari noted, "What makes him unique and special is here's a guy getting all these awards for player of the year and most of the season, he was the fifth-leading shot-taker on our team.
Davis finished with 186 blocks which is the most in the history of the SEC. He's also been the driving force in that statistical category in helping the Wildcats break the NCAA all-time mark with a running total of 333 for the season. "Anthony Davis had one of the more memorable freshmen seasons in history," said Angela Lento, co-founder of CollegeInsider.com. "He is one of those rare players that can dominate the game without scoring. Davis owns freshman records for blocks and rebounds by a Kentucky first-year player. He's posted 399 total rebounds surpassing DeMarcus Cousins' record set back in the 2009-10 season. Davis has tied the UK freshman record for double-doubles (20) set by Cousins during the same season.
Read also: Davis's College Career
During the 2011-12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Davis blocked more shots per game than most Division I men's teams. In the January 17 contest against Arkansas, Davis set the Kentucky men's basketball record for single-season blocked shots surpassing Melvin Turpin and Andre Riddick, who each had 83. In the game, he established a career high with 27 points and added 14 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. On February 4, against South Carolina, Davis established the SEC freshman record with 116 blocks surpassing Shaquille O'Neal's total set for LSU. One of the most notable blocks of the season was a block of John Henson with four seconds left to preserve a 73-72 victory when number one Kentucky hosted number five North Carolina on December 3. On March 15, Davis established a Kentucky single-game record for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament by blocking 7 against Western Kentucky. On March 25, Davis established the SEC single-season blocked shots record in the NCAA Tournament South Regional Championship game victory over Baylor, surpassing Jarvis Varnado's total of 169. On March 31, he tied DeMarcus Cousins with 20 double-doubles for the Kentucky freshman-season record. He also surpassed Cousins' Kentucky freshman rebounds record of 374 with 415 rebounds. With six blocks in the championship game, he achieved a total of 186 for the season, surpassing Hassan Whiteside's 2010 total of 182, to set an NCAA Division I freshman record.
NCAA Championship Run
The 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2011-12 season. The Final Four consisted of Kentucky, making their second appearance in the Final Four under John Calipari, Louisville, making their second appearance under Rick Pitino and first since 2005, Kansas, making their first appearance since winning the 2008 national championship under head coach Bill Self by defeating Calipari's Memphis team, and Ohio State, making their first appearance since their runner-up finish in 2007 and second under coach Thad Matta. This was the first (and only) tournament that both national semifinals and the national championship game were regular season rematches. Kentucky defeated Kansas in the championship game 67-59 to win their first national championship since Tubby Smith led the team there in 1998.
Upsets were once again the story of the tournament in 2012, and for the first time ever two #15 seeds won in the same tournament. In the South Region, #15 Lehigh of the Patriot League defeated #2 Duke. In addition to this, Ohio won a game as a double digit seed for the second time in four tournaments as the #13 seed Bobcats defeated #4 seed Michigan to advance to the third round of the Midwest Region. A team from the First Four games also won in the Round of 64 for the second consecutive year as South Florida defeated Midwest #5 seed Temple, setting up a #12 vs. Virginia Commonwealth, a Final Four team from 2011 as an #11 seed, made the 2012 tournament as a #12 seed and once again made the round of 32 by defeating South #5 seed Wichita State. The South Region saw four double digit seeds win in their opening games, as Colorado and Xavier joined VCU and Lehigh as victors. Despite the upsets, all four top seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2009. Three made it to the Elite Eight, as only Michigan State of the West Region lost. Kentucky was the only one to advance to the Final Four as Syracuse and North Carolina lost in their regional finals. Two teams made their first NCAA tournament appearances in school history: MEAC champion Norfolk State and Summit League champion South Dakota State. A total of 68 teams entered the tournament. Thirty out of 31 automatic bids were given to the teams that won their conference tournament. The remaining automatic bid was awarded to the Ivy League regular season champion since they do not hold a conference tournament. Eight teams (the four-lowest seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams) played in the First Four.
Accolades and Recognition
Davis was named the 2012 Sporting News Men's College Basketball Player of the Year. On March 19, he won the US Basketball Writers Association's (USBWA) Robertson trophy. The Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky named Davis the Adolph Rupp Trophy winner on March 22. CBSSports.com recognized Davis as their national player of the year. On March 30, he became the second freshman (Kevin Durant) to win the Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year. On March 31, he won the John R. Wooden Award.
He was also selected as the SEC Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a first team All-SEC honoree. The SEC awards were selected by the league's 12 coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
NBA Career
Davis left college for the NBA after one season and was drafted as the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, and was selected that summer to play in the 2012 Olympics. After his rookie season, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. The next season, he became an All-Star for the first time and led the NBA in blocked shots per game. In 2017, he was named the NBA All-Star Game MVP after scoring a then-record 52 points in the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. Davis was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019, where he won an NBA championship in 2020 and the first edition of the NBA Cup in 2023. In February 2025, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Luka Dončić, in what was regarded as one of the most unexpected trades in American sports history.
On November 1, 2012, Davis made his debut against the San Antonio Spurs. As a rookie, he proved to be mostly a pick-and-roll threat on offense, but was effective in fast break transition and on the offensive boards.
Davis began the 2013-14 NBA season with the newly-renamed Pelicans with a pair of double-doubles, posting 20 points and 12 rebounds against Indiana on October 30 and 26 points and 17 rebounds against Orlando on November 1. In the Orlando game, Davis became the youngest player in franchise history to record 25 points and 15 rebounds in a game. In the third game of the season against Charlotte on November 2, Davis established career highs with 6 blocks and 6 steals, while helping New Orleans to its first victory. He also became the first player with 6 blocks, 6 steals and 25 points in a game in the last 20 years and only the fifth with at least 5 blocks, 5 steals and 25 points in that period. For the week, Davis earned an NBA Player of the Week nomination, but lost out to Kevin Love. On November 8, against the Los Angeles Lakers, Davis scored a career-high 32 points and tied a career high with 6 blocks, along with 12 rebounds, becoming the youngest player ever to have at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in an NBA game. On November 16, he established a new career high with 8 blocks against Philadelphia. He again had 8 blocks on November 20 against the Utah Jazz. With two 8-block games in the Pelicans' first 11 games of the 2013-14 NBA season, Davis matched the number of 8-block games that Roy Hibbert had at that time in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 NBA seasons combined. No other players had two 8-block games as recently. According to ESPN, while drawing a charging foul from Amar'e Stoudemire, Davis suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand in the first quarter against the New York Knicks on December 1. Yahoo!
Davis returned to the lineup on December 18 against the Los Angeles Clippers with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals. He returned to the starting lineup in the next game with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal against Portland on December 21. He missed 7 games due to the injury. In his seventh consecutive 20-point game (all losses), Davis posted 31 points and 17 rebounds against Golden State. In the subsequent game on January 20, he helped the Pelicans snap an 8-game losing streak with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks against Memphis. On January 26, Davis established a new career high with 19 rebounds, in addition to posting 22 points and 7 blocks, in a 100-92 victory over the Orlando Magic. On January 27, Davis was a finalist for Western Conference Player of the Week but lost out to Kevin Durant. The January 28 contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers featuring the last three first overall NBA draft picks (Anthony Bennett, Davis and Kyrie Irving), Davis posted 30 points, 8 blocks, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. However, he dislocated his left index finger causing him to miss the next game the following night. On January 29, he was named a Rising Stars Challenge participant as part of the 2014 NBA All-Star Game weekend. On February 7, he was selected to replace Kobe Bryant in the 2014 NBA All-Star Game. On February 26, Davis sprained his left shoulder late in the first half against the Dallas Mavericks. He did not play in the rest of the game, and his subsequent availability was listed as day-to-day. Despite his shoulder sprain, Davis matched his career high with 32 points on February 28 against the Phoenix Suns. He was one of six Western Conference Player of the Week nominees on March 10. On March 14, Davis established a career high with 36 points against Portland. On March 16, 2014, (the very next game) Davis scored a career-high 40 points along with a career-high 21 rebounds in a 121-120 overtime win against the Boston Celtics. The performance was the first 40-point, 20-rebound effort of the 2013-14 NBA season. Davis was the fourth-youngest player (21 years and 5 days) to achieve 40/20 in a game and the youngest since Shaquille O'Neal in 1993. In addition to his career game, Davis set a New Orleans' franchise record with six straight games of at least 28 points. Glen Rice set the previous best stretch with five straight in the 1990s. In late March, Davis began suffering a series of injuries.
Davis began the 2014-15 NBA season against the Orlando Magic with one of the best season-opening performances of all time: 26 points, 17 rebounds, 9 blocks, 3 steals and 2 assists. It was the first 9-block season-opener since Nate Thurmond had 12 to open the 1974-75 NBA season. The performance also marked the first 26-point/17-rebound/9-block/3-steal effort since Hakeem Olajuwon during the 1989-90 NBA season. On November 8, against the San Antonio Spurs, he posted 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocks, including the game-winning basket with 6.6 seconds remaining. It marked the 5th time Davis had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks since the beginning of the prior season. No other player has had multiple such games in that time. On November 22, Davis scored a career-high 43 points along with 14 rebounds against the Utah Jazz. He was a finalist for October/November Western Conference Player of the Month. On December 2, Davis fell one assist and one block short of becoming the youngest NBA player to ever record a five-by-five with a 25-point, 10-rebound, 4-assist, 6-steal, 4-block performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Davis entered the December 12, 2014, contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a player efficiency rating (PER) of 32.9, which would be the highest in NBA history if maintained for the full season. Davis was injured in the game and left in the first quarter. Davis was sidelined in the subsequent contest. He was a finalist for December Western Conference Player of the Month. On February 6, despite having missed his last 11 three-point shots and having a career 2-for-23 three-point career record, Davis made a game-winning three-point buzzer beater against Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a 41-point, 10-rebound double-double. On February 7, 2015, Davis injured his shoulder after falling off the rim when he received an alley-oop. As a result of the injury, he withdrew from the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, and was replaced on the …
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