In case you haven’t been paying attention, former UK star Anthony Davis is currently leading the NBA in scoring average.
Davis is averaging 32.1 points per game through the first month of the regular season.
NBA.com writes that an attacking mentality is the key element to Davis’ scoring prowess:
Still, if there’s one reason Davis’ production has spiked so dramatically in Year 5, he indicates that it may have more to do with a change in mentality than an expanding tool box.
“I think I always had (various offensive moves), but I’m just being more aggressive,” Davis said. “Usually I kind of just let the game come to me and am more relaxed. But now I’m coming out of the gate being aggressive, trying to find ways to either make plays for myself or my teammates. I think it’s just been a difference, having that aggressive mindset.”
New Orleans assistant coach Kevin Hanson – who was retained on Alvin Gentry’s staff in 2015 partly due to his developmental work with the steadily-improving Davis – agrees, saying that the emphasis of this summer was on approaching the game from a different perspective.
“We’ve changed his mindset, to where it’s attack-minded,” Hanson said. “He’s not settling for shots. Going into this season, the focus was on attacking the defense. If the (jump) shot is there, he’ll take it, but we want him driving the ball more. He’s breaking guys down off the dribble more, selling shot-fakes. He’s really understanding how to use pace to set up the defense, such as he might use a jab step now to create space. He’s understanding how to get to the places on the court where he wants to go. That’s what really efficient scorers do. They don’t allow defenses to move them away from their sweet spots.”
