At 23 years old, Anthony Davis is a three-time All-Star and has made an All-NBA First Team. His ability is unique at his size, and the former no. 1 overall pick has lived up to it as the unquestioned best player on his team.
The next step for Davis, who just suffered an ankle sprain, is developing his intangibles as a leader. As he told Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report, he’s been getting advice on that subject from Kobe Bryant:
Bryant pooh-poohed the notion that a leader is just someone who puts his arm around you. He argued that a leader doesn’t care if everyone likes him, which obviously shook the caring Davis at his core. But a leader makes damn sure, Bryant told him, that everyone respects him.
“A guy has something in his teeth, and other guys just talk to him and let him be. They’re not going to tell him,” Bryant told Davis. “I’m going to be the guy to tell you you’ve got something between your teeth. Then it’s on you whether you want to walk around looking stupid. But I am going to tell you.”
“I was always a guy who was quiet on the basketball floor,” Davis says, noting how Kendrick Perkins and Quincy Pondexter were more equipped with experience to be team leaders last season. “Even in high school, at Kentucky, here, I was always a quiet guy. Outside the locker room, we can talk and kid all day. But I’ve always just been a guy who is real laid-back. […] I know in order for us to win, in order for us to have success, I’ve got to get out of my comfort zone. That’s what I’m determined to do this year.”
Davis can obviously learn plenty from Kobe, not just the killer instinct and demand for that respect as a leader, but being a credible leader even when things are rough. The Pelicans are still trying to piece things together, but with (a healthy) Davis leading them, while growing as a leader himself, they’re in a good position to do so.
