We've all heard the narrative before — LeBron James is aging like fine wine. In spite of the fact that he's about to turn 37 in a few days' time, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is somehow still able to defy time and play at an elite level amid his advancing years. By the looks of it, however, the same cannot be said about Anthony Davis.

As a matter of fact, NBA guru Bill Simmons of The Ringer argues that it's actually quite the opposite for AD. According to Simmons, Davis' career is now actually on the decline (h/t SiriusXM NBA Radio on Twitter):

“[The Lakers] went all out on Davis a couple of years ago because they thought they would be an eventual torch-pass and what’s weird is Davis’ career has gone in the wrong direction,” Simmons said. “… If your free-throw attempts are going down, your rebounds are going down, your field-goal percentage is going down, your points are going down, and you’re in your late 20s, that doesn’t make sense. You should be peaking in your late 20s. … Eye test plus the stats really makes me nervous.”

For what it's worth, Davis is actually putting up better numbers this year compared to last season. In 27 games played thus far, the eight-time All-Star is averaging 23.3 points on 52.1 percent shooting, 9.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game.

You can also argue that injuries have been a major factor in Davis' season thus far. He's been dealing with a myriad of injuries throughout what has been a stop-and-start campaign. Perhaps AD will be able to get it going again once he's able to consistently remain on the court. This begs the question, though — is Anthony Davis actually capable of remaining healthy for extended stretches? His lengthy injury history seems to say otherwise. The 28-year-old was recently diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his knee and is expected to miss the next four weeks.

It is worth noting, however, that when you compare Davis' numbers to his averages during his time with the New Orleans Pelicans, it is clear that AD's production has indeed taken a significant dip. Then again, he was the lone superstar on the Pelicans and unlike with the Lakers, Davis was not playing alongside one of the greatest players of all time in LeBron James.

Be that as it may, Simmons continued to argue that Davis' problems could all boil down to his weight:

“I just think he has too much weight. I think he should have like a (Kevin0 Garnett/(Tim) Duncan kind of a body versus it seems like he’s trying to become a center, and I don’t know if he can carry the weight.”

Right now, Davis is listed at 6-foot-10 and 253 pounds. Simmons is arguing that AD appears to be in a bit of a confused state with the Lakers in terms of the weight he has put on. Some folks believe that coach Frank Vogel should use AD at the five more as opposed to his natural power forward position. This would require him to put on more muscle to battle the giants down low, which according to Simmons, just isn't working out for the Lakers big man.

Is Anthony Davis' career arc on the decline? This notion won't sit well with LeBron considering how AD is supposedly his heir apparent as the Lakers' next cornerstone superstar once The King finally hangs it up. From a more immediate perspective, this supposed downturn in Davis' career will only hurt LA's chances of winning another championship.