On his day, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis is a sensational player. He has every skill in his arsenal a player can hope to get. But even AD has a huge flaw in his game.
That flaw is his inability to stay healthy for a long period. Although Davis has spent a decade in the NBA, he has spent a lot of time being sidelined due to one injury or another.
This has led to many fans turning on him and getting pissed at him for not taking better care of his body. After all, if AD was healthy this season, the Lakers might have at least made it to the playoffs.
Anyway, despite this obvious flaw in his game, NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith recently gave a very controversial take in an interview.
WHEN HEALTHY: I’d take Anthony Davis over Luka. I’d take Anthony Davis over Jokic. Yes I would. pic.twitter.com/sj57A8N0XF
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) June 14, 2022
“We’re only talking skill. What you do on the basketball court when you’re healthy. Are you ready for this? I’d take Anthony Davis over Luka. I’d take Anthony Davis over Jokic. Yes, I would. And let me go a step further.”
He even took it a step further and claimed that he will take a healthy Anthony Davis over Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum as well. Now, that’s what you call a controversial take. Even JJ Redick was shocked upon hearing these claims from Smith and hardly contained his laughter on the show.
stephen a: “i’d take anthony davis over luka. i’d take anthony davis over jokic..”
jj redick’s reaction lmaoooo
— m. taddow (@MikeTaddow) June 14, 2022
Similar to JJ Redick, NBA fans also trolled Stephen A. in various ways. Here are some of the best reactions to the post for you in one place:
We all know that he’s not playing more the 62 games a season so take the other players…
— Ron Harper (@HARPER04_5) June 14, 2022
Anthony Davis isn’t even top 10 in my opinion..
Lebron, Giannis, Steph, Durant, Kawhi, Doncic, Jokic, Butler, heck I’d rather have Ja Morant & KAT than AD
— Bretty (@Bretty_In_CB) June 14, 2022
Luka is a top 3 player, Jokic is top 5.
— alexqtorres (@alexqtorres) June 14, 2022
https://twitter.com/Michael61213323/status/1536762728206938113
Over Luka? No
Over Jokic? No
Over Jimmy B? No
Over Tatum? No
Stephen A 0/4 today
— Prophet Kev ♠️ (@Pastor_KevyKev) June 14, 2022
Interesting because I don’t ever recall Anthony Davis being an MVP candidate even when he’s been healthy. He’s not your best player on a championship team. He’s a #2 or 1.5 at best.
— Chris Gibson (@ChrisGibsonEdS) June 14, 2022
why you say this like Butler or JT better than Luka or Jokic lmfao
— Aiyuk Fan Account (@Sports4T) June 14, 2022
Jimmy buckets and Jason Tatum have led a team to the finals… LEAD! Tatums outcome still pending if he is a champion or not. What has Street clothes led a team to? Vacation after the first round. That’s why he went to ride LeBron’s bus… bus rider… Street Clothes is garbage.
— GoldWolf (@GoldWolf0606) June 15, 2022
When Healthy “Prime” AD lead the Pelicans to playoffs a whopping two times and got smoked each one
— 7even (@OnyxMcGrady) June 14, 2022
Healthy AD over Jokic, but not Luka in my opinion. Luka is like a slower, less athletic version of lebron.
— Nova🗡️ (@Nova___1k) June 14, 2022
this is a silly statement because hes never been healthy in his entire career
— Padres4life (@jrose2391) June 14, 2022
Even when AD is healthy, he still isn’t the same player as the bubble. Y’all need to let that go because he’s declined since then, especially his shooting. Until he’s proved he can regain that form, we can’t keep judging him based on how he was in the bubble
— AB (@WayToo6ixy) June 14, 2022
Over the last few years, fans haven’t seen much from Anthony Davis. Of course, his run in the NBA Bubble was amazing. But since then, AD has failed to stay healthy and perform at the same level.
If he can make a comeback next season, then maybe fans will be happy to believe Stephen A. Smith’s claims. Until then, this discussion is simply hypothetical.
