At the beginning of the night, the league was in shock when the Luka Doncic trade came to light. The Mavericks fans even protested as the face of the franchise will now light up the streets of LA. Amidst this, one name that has received less limelight is Anthony Davis, as some may have forgotten his contributions. So, Shannon Sharpe highlighted the qualities and even a surprise comparison with Michael Jordan. But it’s not the first time that the ESPN analyst has compared the two.
“So it’s kind of like Coach Smith, when he’s (MJ) at North Carolina. The only guy that can keep Michael Jordan under 20 points a game was Coach Smith because of his offense, didn’t allow him to get loose. Nobody saw Michael being able to do what he did in the NBA based on what he did in college. Same thing with Anthony Davis.” On his Nightcap stream, Sharpe shed light on Jordan’s UNC career where he averaged only 20 points in one of his three seasons.
Yet, the 6x NBA champion averaged more than 30 points in 8 of his 15-season career. He compared the offensive abilities of MJ in college to Davis’ collegiate career. It was a one-and-done season for the latest Mavs player and won numerous accolades, including the championship. However, in that one season, AD would average just 14.2 points per game. That’s why Sharpe added, “Anthony Davis was a defensive player at Kentucky. I didn’t see this kind of offense from him. Now he was a sensational defensive player.”
For Kentucky, his defensive ability was on notice as he averaged 4.7 blocks per game. So, Sharpe is not surprised by the former Lakers star’s ability to guard multiple positions on the court. But he is surprised that AD is yet to win a DPOY trophy. “I’m surprised he doesn’t have one already. But it’s his offense that’s been most impressive.”
Feb 8, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) and forward Anthony Davis (3) during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Despite calling the 31-year-old impressive, the NFL did not sing this tune a few years ago. He compared AD to Michael Jordan but in a negative light.
Sharpe highlighted one thing that Michael Jordan had over Anthony Davis
Currently, the six foot 10 star is out with a left adductor strain. During the 3 quarter of his Mavs debut game, he went down without contact. His injury added only increased pressure on the GM Nico Harrison, who is already under fire for trading away Luka Doncic. But AD’s injury concerns are not new, in fact, two years ago, because of this inconsistency, Sharpe called him out.
“All of a sudden he got that ring, now he’s gonna be back to square one. It takes a special type of somebody to do what LeBron (James), to do what Michael Jordan, to do what Kobe (Bryant) … Everybody is not wired like that. Anthony Davis is not wired like that.” The criticism of Davis has always been him not stepping up to take the keys of the franchise from LeBron James.
Even though Sharpe has seemingly changed his stance, it will be interesting to see if AD continues to produce offensive numbers at this level. And if his abilities power the Mavs to the championship, where Luka Doncic and co stumbled last season.
The post Just Like Michael Jordan, Anthony Davis’ Surprisingly Impressive Quality Highlighted by Shannon Sharpe appeared first on EssentiallySports.