Lakers' Anthony Davis 'Stopped Caring' About Winning DPOY Award; Focused on NBA Title

Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis is one of the best defensive players in the league, but he's yet to be rewarded for his prowess on that end of the floor.

While discussing never winning an NBA Defensive Player of the Year award with Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports, Davis revealed that it's no longer a goal of his because, at this stage of his career, he's focused on helping the Lakers win an NBA title.

"I honestly just stopped caring about it," Davis said. "But I'm not sure why I haven't received one yet, even though I'm in a conversation about it every year. At this point, I'm kind of just over it. I'm focusing on winning a championship."

Davis has been named to five All-Defensive teams in his 13-year NBA career including three first-team selections. He's led the league blocks three times, but he's never finished better than second in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year, which occurred just once in 2019-20.

The 31-year-old said he's still confused about what's stopped him from taking home the award, but he knows how good of a defender he's been during his career.

"I think the goalpost just moves sometimes," Davis said. "Some guys throughout the years have been awarded Defensive Player of the Year because they had the most blocks in a season. I've done that a couple of times and haven't gotten it. Or is it about team defense? Or is it about individual defense and what numbers do you have on the defensive end? There's nothing that I can't do defensively. I can switch one-through-five. I'm one of the best at guarding pick-and-rolls, an elite rim protector. Whatever you need me to do defensively, I can do."

Davis has performed at an MVP level this season with team-high averages of 28.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. He will try to lead the 12-8 Lakers to a second straight win when they meet the Minnesota Timberwolves (9-10) on Monday night.