NBA analyst Charles Barkley believes LA Lakers talisman Anthony Davis lacks the killer instinct in him. Barkley had earlier predicted that Davis could be one of the best players in the world but he hasn’t been able to stand tall to all the hype.
Davis has struggled with a plethora of injuries and he hasn’t been able to produce consistent performances for the Lakers. In fact, in the last two seasons, Davis has played only 76 matches out of it possible 154 games because of his injury woes. Thus, he hasn’t been able to support LeBron James and Co.
Davis continued his struggle with injuries in the previous season as he averaged 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 40 games in 2021-22.
On Bill Simmons’ podcast, “I said about five or six years ago that dude is gonna be the best player in the world for the next 10 years,” Barkley said. “And he’s not even in the conversation anymore. Giannis (Antetokounmpo) is the best player in the world right now. I don’t think he has that killer instinct.
“You have to have a thing like, ‘I’m gonna kick you a** and there’s nothing you can do about it.’ That’s one of the cool things about being a great player. 99.9% of the time you step on the court, you’re the best player out there.”
Barkley feels Davis hasn’t been able to get better due to trouble with injuries.
“I’ve given up on AD having that possibility anymore,” Simmons said. “I think it’s too late. I think he’s had too many injuries. I actually don’t think he’s gotten better. I felt like he peaked in 2018.”
The Lakers have gotten off to another horrid start as they have lost all of their first five matches of the new season. The Lakers will next take on Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.
