In the Washington Wizards' recent loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Anthony Davis poured in 44 points on an unbelievable 16-for-21 shooting. He had 30 of those points in the first half alone, joining some elite company. Davis became the fifth Wizard to achieve such a milestone. The only other former members of the team to do so are Bradley Beal, John Wall, Gilbert Arenas, and Michael Jordan.
There were some questions about how effective Davis would be following all of his injuries, but he's proving those doubters wrong. Despite the Wizards struggling on both ends of the court so far, Davis is turning in a truly All-NBA-caliber season, one that should be talked about more in the national media.
Anthony Davis is giving the Wizards true superstar production
It's been a while since there's been a true star on the Wizards. Before this current era, the best players on the team were Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma, and before that, it was Beal and an extremely banged-up Wall. Davis is giving the Wizards some of the best single-player production they've seen since Wall was in his prime in the mid 2010s.
Davis's block numbers are down slightly from when he was in his prime years, but he's still been an elite defender this season, too. Part of the reason for those numbers being lower is sharing the court with Alex Sarr frequently. On offense, though, Davis is shooting a career-high 37.5 percent from three. If his 3-pointer keeps falling at this clip, guarding him gets even closer to impossible.
It's becoming harder and harder not to believe that Davis deserves a max extension, or at least close to one. Of course, injuries are still a concern, but he's proving that he's still absolutely a superstar-level player, and nothing the Wizards could get in return for a trade could replicate what he does on both ends of the court.
The Wizards need to start stacking some wins
Davis can play like an MVP, honestly, but if he's not getting any help from the rest of the roster, it isn't going to matter. Davis is 33 years old, and he's made it known that winning is his top priority. If the Wizards continue to lose games, that could potentially cause Davis to become unsure of the situation, and that wouldn't be good for either party.
Trae Young, Alex Sarr, and the bench unit need to step up big time, and the team as a whole needs to play more connected basketball. It's still early, and they can absolutely turn it around, and Davis's play makes that turnaround seem a lot more achievable.
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