Almost everyone, including the NBA star himself, considers Anthony Davis a center. From the moment he came to Los Angeles, he made it clear that power forward was where he wanted to play. The Lakers have sometimes played him at center in high-pressure circumstances, but they’ve often chosen to pair him with a more conventional center.
Though he and his club have discussed making a permanent transition in positions almost every summer, nothing has come of it. After Russell Westbrook’s injury last summer, many people speculated that he might go to the center. On the season’s first game night, DeAndre Jordan started in the middle.
Thomas Bryant and Damian Jones, two free agents the Lakers acquired this summer, were presumably brought in so that Davis wouldn’t have to play center. Still, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has been cautiously testing the waters of having the 29-year-old in the center lineup this week.
What Darvin Ham said of Anthony Davis
“Absolutely. I mean, it’s not a knockdown, drag-out, bruiser body type game anymore, you know, the game we play at this level. So AD starting at the five is definitely on the table. That’s something that’s under heavy, heavy consideration.
“Here, we want to put our best five out there to start the game and be able to have a really solid rotation. Once we get to the end of the game, should that game be close, you know, we can have a variety of things in our back pocket and throw at the opposing team, but AD starting at the five. I think that’s, that’s definitely plausible.”
After the game, Davis said that he is open to playing whatever position coach Ham sees fit, albeit power forward is still his first choice. Davis added, “I trust Coach’s decision,” Davis said. “I mean, I’m pretty sure he heard A.D. wants to play the 4, so he knows where I stand, but at the end of the day, I want to win, so if that’s me playing the 5, that’s what it’s got to be.”
