New Orleans Pelicans All-Time Team: Starting Power Forward

Apr 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward

against the Golden State Warriors before game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Rick (@RickStoneNBA): Anthony Davis

In the “No-Brainer” category of this feature is Anthony Davis…the first New Orleans player since Chris Paul to reach the argument of “Could he be the best player in the NBA someday?” Only three years into his NBA career and possibilities for what this kid could do in his NBA career are higher than Mount Everest. Putting up numbers last season that rivaled the greatest of All-Time will do that for you.

Just looking at the numbers is shocking. 24.4 points per game. 10.2 rebounds per game. 2.5 offensive rebounds per game. 2.9 blocks per game. 1.5 steals per game. 53.5% shooting from the field. 80.5% from the free-throw line. That’s….that’s ridiculous. He’s also only 22-years-old and whose game is only growing to be better and better as his career progresses.

The numbers he put up in his first four games in the playoffs are even crazier. Versus the eventual NBA champions, Anthony Davis put up 31.5 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and shot 54% from the field in 43 minutes per game. Those are the kind of numbers your MyPlayer puts up on NBA2k. To do it against the best team in the league on the brightest stage possible is stunning.

Anthony Davis is set for stardom, so it’s impossible to not put him here. It is. Typing another name in this spot would have shut my computer down. Anthony Davis is not only the best power forward in team history, he’s already the best player in team history at the age of 22. New Orleans’ basketball is on a massive upswing thanks to what Anthony Davis has done and is approaching in the coming years. It could very well be the brightest time for basketball in the history of New Orleans, highlighted by Anthony Davis’ rise to unthinkable plateaus in the NBA.

Next: Charles' Selection