Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD", is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played for the New Orleans Pelicans. He plays the power forward and center positions. Davis is a nine-time NBA All-Star and has been named to four All-NBA First Teams and five NBA All-Defensive Teams. In his first season with the Lakers, he won the 2020 NBA Finals. In 2021, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He also won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023 with the Lakers. Davis is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time.
Davis played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, when he was first team All-American and the Consensus National Player of the Year. He also won the USBWA National Freshman of the Year, NABC Defensive Player of the Year and the Pete Newell Big Man Award. Davis led the NCAA in blocks and set Southeastern Conference and NCAA Division I freshman single-season blocked shots records. He led Kentucky to a national championship and was named the most outstanding player of the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
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. He has since become the youngest player to score at least 59 points in an NBA game. In 2017, he was named the recipient of the NBA All-Star Game MVP Award after setting an All-Star Game scoring record of 52 points. Davis was traded to the Lakers in 2019. He has won gold medals with the United States national team on their 2012 Olympic team and 2014 World Cup team, making him the first player in basketball history to win an NCAA title, NBA title, Olympic gold medal and FIBA World Cup.
High school career
Born in Chicago, Davis grew up in the Englewood neighborhood and played high school basketball for Perspectives Charter School, where he had attended school since sixth grade. The team plays in the Blue Division of the Chicago Public High School League, which is ignored by the media because of its lower level of competition. Perspectives is a charter school that operates as a math and science academy; it has a strong academic reputation, but minimal athletic success. The school had no gymnasium and Davis's middle school basketball teams practiced at the nearby Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago's historic South Loop District. In junior high school, he was known as "the little guy who would shoot threes from the corner". He ended his freshman year at a height of 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m). By the beginning of his sophomore year, he had grown another 1 inch (2.5 cm), and he finished the year at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m).
Davis began his junior basketball season at 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m), saying he felt fortunate to have had such a rapid growth spurt without any knee pains. During his junior year, his family considered having him transfer to one of Chicago's basketball powerhouses, but Hyde Park Career Academy head coach Donnie Kirksey advised against it, saying "If you're good enough, they'll find you wherever you are". Perspectives finished the season 8–15. Although he remained unnoticed nationally and locally after three seasons of Chicago Public League play, he was soon thereafter rated as the number one player in the class of 2011 by Scout.com and was listed in the ESPNU 100. Attention came when he started playing on Tai Streets' Meanstreets (AAU team) traveling system in the spring of his junior year. In late April, Syracuse University offered him a scholarship. That spring, NBA Top 100 Camp Director Dave Telep invited him to the camp based on his dominant first-half performance of the first game of the Fort Wayne, Indiana Spiece Fieldhouse event. In August 2010, Davis played in the Nike Global Challenge in Hillsboro, Oregon. In the opening game, he had 23 points and 9 rebounds.
Davis verbally committed to Kentucky on August 13, 2010, choosing it over DePaul, Ohio State and Syracuse. On August 24, 2010, he became the number one rated player in the national class of 2011 at Scout.com.
Before Davis committed to Kentucky, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that his father had asked Kentucky for $200,000 in exchange for a commitment from Davis. The report was initially released on Wednesday August 4, 2010 by Sun-Times reporter Michael O'Brien. Citing "a reliable source", he posted the following text: "Rumors/sources that have Davis choosing Kentucky are also alleging that the commitment cost $200,000." The sentence was later edited to say "rumors that Davis's commitment is for sale have surfaced since he cut his list of schools down about a month ago." The sentence was removed later that day from the Sun-Times' high school sports website following a threat from a University of Kentucky lawyer. Anthony Davis Sr. declined to speak to the Chicago Tribune on August 4 regarding the allegation; on July 30, however, he denied the allegations to the Sun-Times, stating, "We haven't asked anyone for anything, and no one has offered us anything".
The article was reposted on the Sun-Times' website and included in the print edition on Friday August 6. O'Brien wrote "sources from three separate universities told the Sun-Times that Davis Sr. asked for money in return for his son's commitment, with the amounts ranging from $125,000 to $150,000." The University of Kentucky and the Davis family both threatened to sue the Sun-Times over the article; however, no lawsuits were filed by Kentucky or the Davis family. The Davises and Kentucky claim the restated publication was false. Illinois' one-year statute of limitations on libel cases expired before any lawsuits were filed.
Davis signed his National Letter of Intent on November 10, 2010. He began his senior season on the Chicago Sun-Times area 2010 Top 50 list. He was a pre-season first team all-state selection by the Sun-Times. By that time, he stood at 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m). His team's game against Whitney M. Young Magnet High School was nationally televised on ESPNU. Perspectives finished the season with a 6–19 record. Despite his growth, Davis continued to perform aspects of the role of a guard during the season by bringing the ball up the court and shooting outside shots. For the season, he averaged 32 points, 22 rebounds and 7 blocks.
![image](https://www.wikiquery.en-us.nina.az/image/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2lraXF1ZXJ5LmVuLXVzLm5pbmEuYXovaW1hZ2UvYUhSMGNITTZMeTkxY0d4dllXUXVkMmxyYVcxbFpHbGhMbTl5Wnk5M2FXdHBjR1ZrYVdFdlkyOXRiVzl1Y3k5MGFIVnRZaTh6THpNeUx6SXdNVEV3TkRFNVgwRnVkR2h2Ym5sZlJHRjJhWE5mWVhSZlNtOXlaR0Z1WDBKeVlXNWtYME5zWVhOemFXTXVhbkJuTHpJeU1IQjRMVEl3TVRFd05ERTVYMEZ1ZEdodmJubGZSR0YyYVhOZllYUmZTbTl5WkdGdVgwSnlZVzVrWDBOc1lYTnphV011YW5Cbi5qcGc=.jpg)
In high school, Davis earned numerous honors for his basketball abilities, including being named to the 2011 McDonald's All-American Game and the 10th annual Jordan Brand Classic. He was a first team USA Today All-USA high school basketball team selection. He was a first-team Parade All-American. He was also a first team All-American selection by SLAM Magazine (along with Gilchrist, Rivers, Beal, Quincy Miller and Marquis Teague) and Dime Magazine (along with Gilchrist, Rivers, Beal and Myles Mack). He was a first team selection to the ESPN Rise boys' high school basketball All-American team. In the statewide voting for Illinois Mr. Basketball by coaches and media, he placed fourth. The Chicago Sun-Times selected him as a Class 3A first team All-State selection. The Chicago Sun-Times selected him as an all-Public League selection. The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association included him in the Class 3A/4A boys all-state first team.
In the March 30, 2011 McDonald's All-American Game, in front of a hometown crowd at the United Center, Davis made his first five field goals on his way to a 14-point, 6-rebound, 2-steal and 4-block performance. In the April 9 Nike Hoops Summit, Davis led the USA Basketball team to a 92–80 victory over the world team with a team-high 10 rebounds to go with 16 points and two blocks. He was named co-MVP of the April 16 Jordan Brand Classic game after posting 29 points (on 13-for-15 shooting), 11 rebounds and four blocks in a losing effort. Davis's 29 points was the second-highest point total in the first 10 years of the Jordan Brand Classic, following only LeBron James's 34-point performance.
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Anthony Davis F | Chicago, IL | Perspectives Charter School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Aug 13, 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(Recruiting star ratings): Scout:![]() ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1 Rivals: 2, 1 (PF) ESPN: 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sources:
National team career![]() Davis with the 2012 U.S. Olympic team ![]() Davis fields a question from Matt Winer at the 2014 World Basketball Festival with Team USA. On May 2, 2012, following a rash of injuries to players who had been on the 20-man Team USA basketball roster in January (notably center Dwight Howard), Davis was named as one of the finalists for the 2012 Olympic basketball team. Davis, along with Greg Monroe, was under consideration to fill the vacancy at center resulting from Howard's injury. Davis would be the first American player since Emeka Okafor (2004) to have competed in the Olympics without any prior NBA experience. By the beginning of July, he was one of six players (along with Blake Griffin, James Harden, Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala and Eric Gordon) competing for the final three roster spots, according to USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo.Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love, Griffin and Davis were the only true post players among the final 15. It was reported that Davis "suffered a severely sprained ankle in a workout" on June 30 and "almost assuredly [would] bypass a chance to play for Team USA [that] summer in the London Olympics." On July 12, 2012, however, he was selected for the Olympic team after Griffin suffered an injury to the same knee he injured in the 2012 NBA playoffs, making him the only amateur player on the team. The team went undefeated in London and won the gold medal match over Spain. Davis was also a member of the 2014 national team that won the gold medal in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup over Serbia on September 14. He averaged 12.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game in 9 games played, while shooting 54.9% from the field. On April 15, 2024, Team USA named an 11-man roster for Basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics that included Davis. Esports career
On June 19, 2022, Davis signed with FaZe Clan, joining Faze Clan's Nuke Squad for Call of Duty. Personal lifeDavis is the son of Anthony Davis Sr. Davis Sr. is 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), and his mother, Erainer, is 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m). He has a twin sister, Antoinette and an older sister, Lesha who played basketball at Daley College. He has cousins named Jarvis, Marshaun and Keith Chamberlain. Keith has played professional basketball in Germany and Latvia and their father, Keith Sr., served as Davis's elementary school athletic director. Davis married Marlen Polanco on September 18, 2021. They have three children together. On June 15, 2012, he signed with Arn Tellem and Thad Foucher of the Wasserman Media Group as his agents. Tellem left to become an NBA executive in 2015, and Davis signed with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group in 2018. Davis trademarked his unibrow sayings "Fear The Brow", "Raise The Brow", and "Street Clothes Davis" in June 2012. In 2014, he launched AD's Flight Academy, which holds charitable events in the Greater-New Orleans area. FilmographyFilm
Television
See also
References
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