Darvin Ham: Anthony Davis’ Absence From GM Surveys: ‘There’s A Reason Why They Don’t Really Attach Names To Certain Votes’

The Los Angeles Lakers’ general lack of participation on the NBA General Managers’ survey for the 2023–24 season is one of the early topics that have emerged for the team during this preseason. Los Angeles was left out of a lot of noteworthy categories, but arguably the player who was treated with the least amount of respect was All-NBA center Anthony Davis.

As a result of his four nominations to the All-NBA Defense team, Davis has been regarded as one of the top defenders in the NBA for the past several years. This is shown by the fact that Davis has received four All-NBA Defense team honors. However, in the survey that was conducted this year, he was placed in the category of “also receiving votes” for the best defender in the league, and he was ranked fourth in the area of “best interior defender.”

The opportunity to debate Davis’ snub on the GM survey was presented to Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, and he seized the opportunity to commend Davis for everything he does for L.A.’s defense.

Ham stated, “They’re entitled to their opinions, but all I know is that he’s the heart and soul of our defense.” “He’s the heart and soul of our defense,” “He made it possible for our defense to consistently rank among the top three, and even take the top spot at various points.” After the deadline had gone, those things, the polls or people, whichever opinions were expressed, there is a reason why they don’t really attach names to certain votes, but I don’t worry about it at all. I am aware of who he is, what he represents to our baseball team, and what we can expect from him when we compete against the other 29 teams.

We just keep our eyes focused on the task at hand, keep working hard, and strive to become the architects of our own plan.

Since the beginning of the era that LeBron James and Davis have dominated, the Lakers have had the impression that their club is looked down upon in general. Despite having the best record in the Western Conference, they believed that they were not appropriately represented in the regular season honors that season when they won the 2019-20 NBA championship. This was despite the fact that they had the best record in the NBA.

L.A. has, during the course of the James and Davis era, given themselves permission to carry a chip on their shoulder while at the same time maintaining their ability to remain unaffected by the noise from the outside world. Since the beginning of his term as head coach the previous year, Ham has placed a greater emphasis on tuning out distracting background noise.

The Los Angeles Lakers are serious title contenders entering the season for the first time since the 2020-21 NBA season, so whatever incentive they can get their hands on is a good thing. If Davis views the general manager survey as an opportunity to become the dominant defender that Lakers supporters believe he is capable of becoming, then everyone in the area surrounding L.A. will benefit.

Davis is put to the test by Ham.

On the other side of the court, Ham has challenged Davis to a jump shot competition with the hopes of boosting Davis’s self-assurance with his jump shot. Ham believes it is unlikely that Davis will actually make six three-point shots in each game, despite the fact that he wants Davis to attempt that many.