When New Orleans decided to select Anthony Davis as the number-1 overall pick back in 2012, they understood what they were getting; a young/ talented player who could bring the franchise back to relevancy. Within just a short 5-year span, Davis has not only been what NOLA had hoped for, but has in fact surpassed all expectations! With his name cemented to a plethora of categories in the organizations record books, Davis seems to be well on his way to “All-Time Great” status for the Pelicans. Now, entering 2017, another historic feat is well within reach for the 24-year old superstar. So, without further adieu, here is the 4th installment of Pelican Debrief’s own “Pelicans Predictions.” Our prediction; Anthony Davis will become the all-time leading scorer in Hornets/ Pelicans history this season.
While the Pelicans brand may be relatively new to the ‘Big Easy’ (established in 2013) New Orleans has had quite a few seasons with NBA basketball in it. Previously known as the New Orleans Hornets (2002-2013), the organization has seen its fair share or triumphs and tribulations in its day. From NBA greats such as Baron Davis to Chris Paul, NOLA was once called “home” to many outstanding basketball players.
Now, while both of the aforementioned players have been gone for quite some time, New Orleans still rosters one of the most prolific players in the game today. Anthony Davis, New Orleans’ star power forward, has been re-writing the organizations record books ever since his first minutes in the NBA.
Davis, coming into his 5th pro season, has already seen his fair share of successes. A career 22.4, 10.2 RPG, 2.2 BPG player, the ‘Brow’ has shown to the masses he’s here to make a name for himself. Couple those statistics with 4 All NBA selections, 4 All-Star appearances and an All-Star game MVP and you have the makings for an all time great!
While we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves and question where Davis may end up falling on the NBA All-Time great rankings we can, however, figure where he may land on New Orleans’ list.
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Currently speaking, Anthony Davis holds the record for quite a few of NOLA’s franchise accolades. From points and blocks per game averages to player efficiency rating, AD’s name seems to either be at the top of the list or close to it. And speaking of “close to the top”, there is one franchise record in particular that Davis could soon take complete control over.
That record?
Total points.
As it stands right now, Davis sits at the number 3 spot with a total point accumulation of 7,497. Ahead of him are Chris Paul (2) with 7,936 points and David West (1) with 8,690. The difference in points between Davis and West is approximately 1,193. And while this number may seem like a large differentiation between the two player, if you look at it, it’s really not!
Last season, Davis managed to accumulate a total of 2,099 points all by himself. That, averaged out into 75 games (the amount in which he played), comes out to 28.0 PPG. To take the number 1 spot on the all time scoring list for New Orleans, Davis, presuming he plays all 82 games this year, would have to average a measly 14.5 PPG. With this PPG average being 7-points below his current career average, I’d say we should be looking at a new franchise leading scorer for New Orleans come April.
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In comparison to all the other predictions we’ve made thus far, and all that we plan to do, this may be the most “sure-fire” claim we could possibly come up with. Shall we just put his name at the top of the list now?
No?
Ok, we’ll wait!
All statistics are provided by ‘ESPN.com’ with franchise records being provided by ‘Basketball Reference.’