Former New Orleans Pelicans Star Predicted as Top Player In Three Years

Former New Orleans Pelicans star, Anthony Davis, is predicted to finally be the best player on his team soon.

Aug 10, 2024; Paris, France; United States centre Anthony Davis (14) shoots against France power forward Victor Wembanyama (32) in the second half in the men's basketball gold medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. / Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images

Five years ago, we saw one of the biggest trades of the decade, as the New Orleans Pelicans traded Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers. 

At the time, the deal sent shockwaves through the NBA, as it gave LeBron James of the Lakers the star big man that he desired from the Pelicans. Los Angeles has had a long history of pulling off blockbuster trades for big men, and acquiring Davis was no different. 

At the time of the trade, Davis was one of the best young stars in the game, but New Orleans was having a problem building around him, and they never had much team success with Davis as the star. 

As expected, the return for Davis was substantial at the time, as the Pelicans received Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, three first-round draft picks, and one pick swap. 

The haul from the Lakers was certainly a good one for the Pelicans, as Ingram did end up becoming an All-Star caliber player for them, and they are still reaping the rewards of some of the draft capital. 

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report recently predicted that Davis will finally become Los Angeles’ best player within the next three years. 

“When they acquired him five years ago, the Los Angeles Lakers' plan for Anthony Davis was to succeed LeBron. It may have just been hard to imagine LeBron still being a top 5-10 player in the league by this point.”

“AD is still, relatively clearly, L.A.'s No. 2. And three years from now, when he'll almost certainly move up one spot, he'll already be 34. He may not have that perch for long, especially since a big part of his defensive impact is reliant on his athleticism.”

“Still, if Davis is 80-85 percent of his current self in 2027, that's probably someone who averages a near-20-point double-double while blocking somewhere between one and two shots per game.”

James still playing at the level that he is five years after the Davis trade is rather shocking. Many believed that Davis would have already taken over as the best player on the Lakers, but father time has yet to catch up to James. 

While his son is now on the team, it does seem like James could retire in the next couple of seasons. There isn’t much left for him to accomplish in his career, and we can finally see Davis takeover as the focal point in Los Angeles.