Anthony Davis has struggled with his shot in recent years and Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has an idea why. Redick appeared on The Lowe Post recently, where host Zach Lowe asked him if he knew what had happened to Davis’ jumper after the Bubble but he wasn’t interested in divulging his theory behind it.
“I have a theory around that. Not one I’m willing to share publicly,” Redick said. “…I have a theory around that. And you know what, if my theory proves correct, I’ll share it with you later in the season.”
I wonder what this theory is. The Lakers sure would be hoping that Redick knows how to fix that jumper, because if Davis can start shooting the way he did in the Bubble, then the rest of the league would be in trouble. Teams just had no answer for him back then and he helped power the Lakers to the title.
In the 2020 NBA playoffs, Davis averaged 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 57.1% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc. He also made 49.6% of his mid-range shots, the second-best mark among players averaging at least 5.0 attempts per game.
Since then, however, those shooting numbers have dipped drastically, with Davis shooting just 24.8% from three over the last four seasons. The nine-time All-Star’s best shooting campaign in that stretch was actually 2023-24, as he went 27.1% from beyond the arc. As for those mid-range shots, he made just 38.9% of them.
That’s pretty terrible, but it speaks to how good the other facets of Davis’ game are, that he was still so effective on the court last season. The 31-year-old averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game in 2023-24 and was one of the best players in the league.
Davis was deservedly named to the All-Defensive First Team for his efforts, but there was one notable voter who completely left him off his ballot, Redick. Some wondered if it might cause some friction between the two and Lowe asked Redick in this episode if he had spoken to the big man about the snub.
“Yeah, he had no idea what I was talking about,” Redick said. “… He’s just like, ‘I didn’t even know that.’ … Spent some time with him, went to a lovely dinner in Santa Monica a few weeks back. We’re going to empower him as much as he wants to be empowered. If he wants to be First Team All-NBA and wants to be in the MVP conversation all year long, we’re going to empower him to do that.”
Well, if Redick can get Davis’ jumper fixed, he might well be in that MVP conversation. Winning that award might prove to be a bit too difficult, though.
JJ Redick Spoke Glowingly About Dalton Knecht
While Davis’ jumper needs some work, that’s not the case for Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht. The 23-year-old, who was the 17th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, is an excellent shooter and Redick stated in this episode that he’ll have a chance at cracking the rotation.
“I told him (Knecht) this the other day, he is in the 1% of shooters,” Redick said. “He’s in the 1%. He has a skill that is just hard to find. He’s gonna have a chance to earn a spot in the rotation.”
Knecht averaged 21.3 points per game in the NBA 2K25 Summer League and shot 39.1% from three. If the youngster can consistently knock down that outside shot when the real games begin, he could prove to be a great option off the bench for the Lakers.
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