Although he didn’t score a lot of points at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Anthony Davis made a significant impact off the bench for Team USA men’s basketball. He concentrated almost solely on defense and rebounding, and he therefore gave the team a lift on a consistent basis when he would enter the game.
In the gold medal contest versus France, he had four blocked shots, two steals and nine rebounds in 20 minutes as the United States won 98-87 and claimed the gold medal. It was Davis’ second Olympic gold medal after he had been a member of Team USA in 2012.
Overall, he averaged 8.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals a game in this year’s Summer Games. However, he may have gotten snubbed when Aleksa Avramovic of Serbia won the Best Defensive Player award.
🛡️ Best Defensive Player of #Paris2024 Men's #Basketball 🛡️
Aleksa Avramovic, Serbia 🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/D0GhRPsOI6
— FIBA (@FIBA) August 10, 2024
This may have reminded some of how Davis didn’t win enough votes to be a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year award this past season in the NBA.
Ultimately, this may serve as even more motivation for him to build on what may have been the best season of his career as he heads into the 2024-25 campaign.
