There is no doubt that a lot of basketball analysts often have takes that fans disagree with. That is especially true of the talking heads on television, who are frequently made fun of for having hot takes.
Stephen A. Smith has recently delivered one of those aforementioned hot takes, claiming that Anthony Davis is a top-7 player when healthy, and added that he’d take him over Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
“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. Let me go a step further”
“And I know how great Jokic is… I’m saying this to you. I’m taking him over Luka, I’m taking him over Jokic and as much love and respect and reverence as I have for Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum, and how bigtime I believe both of them are, I’d take a healthy Anthony Davis over them too.”
There’s no doubt that a lot of fans were not happy with this take. Instagram page sbehoops posted what Stephen A. Smith said, with many people responding negatively to the quote, though some agreed with Smith and pointed out that Anthony Davis is dominant when healthy.
There’s no doubt that it is true that Anthony Davis is an elite big man on both ends when healthy. However, he has been subpar in the last two seasons even when he was on the court, and he definitely was not better than Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
With that being said, Anthony Davis will be a crucial part of the Los Angeles Lakers next season. Perhaps he will end up dominating, and proving that Stephen A. Smith’s faith in him is not unfounded.
