Lakers News: Colin Cowherd Finally Comes Around on Los Angeles Star

The longtime radio personality concedes he misjudged this future Hall of Famer.

Feb 1, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Radio personality Colin Cowherd broadcasts on radio row at the Moscone Center in advance of Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports / Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

All-NBA Second Team and All-Defensive First Team Los Angeles Lakers center Anthony Davis' defensive versatility and dominant post scoring have been converting believers for the past few years.

Now, it appears he's got another appreciator.

On a fresh installment of his podcast "The Colin Cowherd Show," Fox Sports and The Volume's Colin Cowherd indicated that he believes, beyond Denver Nuggets MVP center Nikola Jokic, Davis is the second-best big man — not just center — in the league.

"Take Jokic out. I'm not sure there's a big I'd take over him."

—@ColinCowherd tells @_JasonLT why he's come full circle on Anthony Davis pic.twitter.com/qOp8XXLmpI

— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) August 1, 2024

"I was so anti-AD when we started doing this podcast," Cowherd admitted. "I went like two years. I'm like it's a dad bod, he doesn't work out, he's out of shape, he never plays hurt. Take Jokic out, I'm not sure there's a big I'd take over him including Giannis. You cannot mistake Anthony Davis in a game. Dominant defender. He's gotten significantly more physical to me. I don't know what happened."

Saying Davis is better than All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks' two-time MVP and 2021 Finals MVP, is a particularly bold proclamation. Davis no longer appears capable of leading a championship-caliber club on offense, though clearly he can guide a club on the other end. Even in his prime as a more multifaceted scorer, during the Lakers' 2020 run to their 17th team championship (and Davis' first), The Brow was always the supplemental offensive piece, second to L.A. offensive fulcrum LeBron James.

At age 39, James has somehow established himself as the offensive leader of Team USA during this summer's 2024 Olympics in Paris, where he has once again been joined by Davis. Both players are appearing in their first Olympics since capturing the gold medal in 2012. They are joined by two other All-Star centers, in Philadelphia 76ers MVP Joel Embiid and Miami Heat All-Defensive big man Bam Adebayo, but Davis has looked like the best five man on the squad this summer.

"You cannot mistake Anthony Davis in a game," Cowherd noted. "Dominant defender. He's gotten significantly more physical to me. I don't know what happened. This is the AD we thought we were getting out of college, and he just wasn't emotionally ready for it."

Davis is currently putting in the work for Team USA as it squares off against a shockingly competitive Team Puerto Rico, led by New Orleans Pelicans reserve point guard Jose Alvarado. Whatever happens, Team USA will advance to the Olympics' quarterfinal round, but it would sure prefer to do so with its record unblemished.

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