Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis put together another excellent performance in Tuesday night's win against the Denver Nuggets. Davis recorded 25 points, 10 rebounds and had a plus-minus of plus-11, despite needing an IV at halftime due to a flu spreading around the Lakers team.

What's arguably even more impressive is that Davis held Nikola Jokic, one of the NBA's most talented offensive centers, to only 13 points and five rebounds. Jokic and the Nuggets had nowhere to go on the night, thanks to Davis' elite combination of speed and length stymieing Denver all night long:

Following this latest dominant defensive performance, fellow Laker LeBron James again said Davis should be Defensive Player of the Year. It's not the first time LeBron has said it, and it won't be the last.

LeBron is far from the only Laker to compliment Davis' defensive performance. Rajon Rondo and Danny Green have been effusive in their praise. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel also couldn't say enough good things about his defensive anchor:

“He's guarding their two best players,” coach Frank Vogel said. “Jokic, single coverage, everybody's staying home. And Jamal Murray taking him to the basket and he's making defensive play after defensive play. He was outstanding. For him to play through illness and have that kind of performance was something special.”

While Tuesday night's performance deserves the hype due to Davis battling through the sickness, it's far from his only dominant defensive performance of the year.

Article Continues Below
Related News
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick reacts to his team losing the lead to the Minnesota Timberwolves late in the fourth quarter during game four of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Lakers’ JJ Redick link up with Les Snead at Rams campMiguel La Torre ·
image thumbnail
Sources: Lakers split on trading core playersAnthony Irwin ·
Lakers' Rob Pelinka with a Lakers logo in the middle Mavs Center Daniel Gafford on one side, Nets center Nic Claxton on the other. Question marks around them.
Sources: ‘Extremely active’ Lakers looking to add multiple bigs on trade marketAnthony Irwin ·
Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal (33) being defended by Chicago Bulls center Brad Miller (52) during the second quarter in game four of the first round of the 2010 NBA playoffs at the United Center.
Former Laker Shaq, Brad Miller recreate brawl photo 23 years laterZachary Howell ·
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) talks with his coach during a stoppage in play against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second quarter during game four of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Lakers rumors: LeBron James’ ‘likely’ $52.6 million contract decisionPreston Byers ·
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) reacts in the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at the Crypto.com Arena.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves’ agent fires shot at fans’ trade proposalsJoey Mistretta ·

Davis is the reason why the Lakers have one of the best defenses in the league. With Brow leading the defensive charge, the Lakers have the fifth-best defensive rating of 103.0, per NBA.com. They have the best fourth quarter defensive rating and second-best defensive rating in the clutch, which shows they get it done when it matters most.

The Lakers are top 10 in the league in steals per game (8.5) while leading the league in blocks per game (7.1). They refuse to let opponents get more than one shot per possession, as they only allow 12.1 second chance points per game, which is tied for sixth in the league.

Furthermore, the Lakers only allow opponents to score 42.9 points per game in the paint, which is good for fifth-best in the league. Part of this is because Davis is averaging 2.7 blocks per game, but another part of that is Davis' elite help-side defense and presence inside discourages opponents from going into the lane in the first place.

Davis is legitimately helping the Lakers win on the defensive end, which has helped result in an 18-3 record to start this season. Davis is second in Defensive Win Shares behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he also ranks an excellent 14th in Defensive Box Plus/Minus.

While LeBron will always be the star the media focuses in on, Davis is almost as valuable in his own right. What he brings to the Lakers on the defensive side makes them a legitimate title favorite, and that alone should put Davis in the driver's seat to win Defensive Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season. There will be strong competition among guys like Giannis, Marcus Smart and Rudy Gobert, among others, but Davis has a great case.