Kevin Garnett Praises Lakers' Anthony Davis as 'a F--king Beast' Ahead of Playoffs

Basketball Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett said March 5 on Showtime Basketball that he was watching the Lakers to see if Anthony Davis would be able to lead his team into the playoffs without an injured LeBron James.

Since then, Los Angeles has gone 11-4.

"Anthony Davis, if you can hear this, this is what I'm talking about," Garnett said on Friday. "How you're playing right now, second and third effort, offensive rebounding, being a f--king beast, being a dominant big man, this is what I wanted. This is how I wanted you to start the year."

James sat out with an injured foot from February 28 to March 24. In that time, Los Angeles went 7-3 when Davis was on the court.

The Lakers' playoff hopes have been kept alive thanks in large part to Davis averaging 12.8 rebounds and 27.3 points per game, including three 30-point outings and four triple-doubles, over the span.

Although Garnett praised Davis for this late-season performance, he criticized the star power forward for his start to the 2022-23 campaign. Davis missed the NBA All-Star game for the second consecutive year after putting up five sub-20-point performances in the first month of the season. Davis also missed 24 games in the first half of the campaign.

"If you could start the year like this," said Garnett, meaning Davis' performance since March, "we would have been talking about Anthony Davis in the MVP race. This is how you've got to start the year, bro."

Garnett listed Davis and the Milwaukee Bucks' Jrue Holiday as his two "second-half MVPs."

The Lakers, currently sitting at the No. 7 seed in the West, tip off at 10:30 p.m. ET against the Phoenix Suns. Both Davis and James are "questionable" for tonight's contest.