New Orleans Pelicans: 15 greatest scorers of all-time

It’s not often that a much-heralded No. 1 overall pick lives up to the hype, but Anthony Davis has done just that and maybe then some with, among other things, his ability to score at a pace comparable to some of the league’s best in that department.

As someone who went through an improbable growth spurt back in high school, Davis has always had guard-like quickness, which has helped him blow past slower defenders out on the perimeter. Conversely, he’s developed a consistent low post game with jump-hooks over either shoulder even with defenses smothered all over him.

With long arms and a ridiculous verticle leap, AD has also proven to be one of the best rim-runners in the NBA today, with a catch radius bigger than most and the ability to throw down some truly magnificent poster slams.

Where Davis has made the most progress over the course of his relatively short career, though, is with his outside shooting. Not many can get a hand on his jumper, and with so many hours spent in the gym honing that skill, he’s able to pop out to the elbow as well as a 3-point shot that comes and goes from time to time.

Upon combining his various weapons, you get a guy who’s nearly unstoppable from the face-up position. If you give him space, he’s not afraid to shoot a jumper, and yet crowding him affords him the position to take it all the way to the bucket. He’s got the size to barrel past smaller guys and the speed and quickness to blow past burlier opponents who may try to use their physicality to slow him down.

Barley 26 years of age, Davis is a career 23.8 points per game scorer with the most points in franchise history. His time with the Pelicans organization may soon be coming to an end, but there’s no denying his impact as the greatest scoring threat to ever don the uniform.