
Davis' 2014-15 season was nothing short of absolutely legendary. At just 21 years old and entering his third NBA season, Davis averaged 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game on 53.5% shooting from the field and 80.5% from the free throw line. That was good enough for the league's best PER of 30.89, making him the youngest player in the past thirty years to ever post a PER above 30.
But the big man didn't make any improvements this past season. Ravaged by injuries and only playing 61 games, Davis averaged 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game on shooting splits of 49.3/32.4/75.8 with a PER of just 25.10 in 2015-16. Injuries are in fact nothing new for the Pelican. In his historic 2014-15 campaign, he only managed 68 games out of 82; in his first two NBA seasons, which occurred prior to that year, Davis would only play 64 and 67 games, respectively.
This is indeed a major obstacle towards the 23-year-old winning MVP. In fact, every single MVP since 2004 has played in at least 76 games. It stands to reason that the "most valuable player" is considerably "more valuable" when wearing their team's jersey rather than a suit.
But that's not all for Davis. Another major hurdle could be even more obvious -- team success. New Orleans finished an abysmal 30-52 (12th in West) this past season, and their top offseason signing was the decent PF Terrence Jones. It's far from certain that Davis's team will even make the playoffs this upcoming season. Given that MVP's are generally at the top of their conferences, it seems that the New Orleans front office is still unable to assist Davis in capturing his inevitable MVP award, almost no matter how amazing he performs individually this season.
But the big man didn't make any improvements this past season. Ravaged by injuries and only playing 61 games, Davis averaged 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game on shooting splits of 49.3/32.4/75.8 with a PER of just 25.10 in 2015-16. Injuries are in fact nothing new for the Pelican. In his historic 2014-15 campaign, he only managed 68 games out of 82; in his first two NBA seasons, which occurred prior to that year, Davis would only play 64 and 67 games, respectively.
This is indeed a major obstacle towards the 23-year-old winning MVP. In fact, every single MVP since 2004 has played in at least 76 games. It stands to reason that the "most valuable player" is considerably "more valuable" when wearing their team's jersey rather than a suit.
But that's not all for Davis. Another major hurdle could be even more obvious -- team success. New Orleans finished an abysmal 30-52 (12th in West) this past season, and their top offseason signing was the decent PF Terrence Jones. It's far from certain that Davis's team will even make the playoffs this upcoming season. Given that MVP's are generally at the top of their conferences, it seems that the New Orleans front office is still unable to assist Davis in capturing his inevitable MVP award, almost no matter how amazing he performs individually this season.