Anthony Davis' Return Will Remind Fans Why He's Rookie of the Year Favorite

New Orleans Hornets fans will finally have the future of their franchise back tonight against the Washington Wizards. According to head coach Monty Williams, as told to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com, rookie power forward Anthony Davis will play off the bench for his return. It will be Davis' first game back from a stress reaction in his ankle and his first game since November 17.

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Anthony Davis will play tonight, according to Monty. Davis will come off bench

— Jim Eichenhofer (@Jim_Eichenhofer) December 11, 2012"

On the season, the 2012 No. 1 pick is averaging 16 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks and shooting 50 percent from the field. New Orleans went 2-9 in Davis' absence, and the team will surely perform much better now that his defense is back in the lineup.

New Orleans fans will be ecstatic to have its young star back. He has performed extremely well at the NBA level despite being just 19 years old, and he will be the new face of the franchise now that the Chris Paul era is over.

Davis' success is key to the Hornets getting back on the right track, and team owner Tom Benson surely had him in mind when he chose to rename the team the Pelicans, starting next season. He was drafted first overall for a reason, and he will remind fans why against the Wizards.

Sure, Davis may only have six games under his belt this season, but look at what he has done in them. The numbers don't seem like much, but he is the clear and obvious choice for Rookie of the Year.

This is the same man who scored 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds in his NBA debut, against the deep and experienced San Antonio Spurs. That led the team, and New Orleans lost by just five points.

More importantly, Davis is this year's top rookie simply because of his winning attitude. He goes into every game thinking his team can win it, with not one contest being a throwaway game. The man is in the NBA to play hard and win, and being the star is just the icing on the cake.

Davis' attitude may come from his sole year at the University of Kentucky, during which he helped lead the Wildcats to a national championship. Along the way, he averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game.

His brief college career has clearly rubbed off on him at the professional level, as Davis is playing as though he has been in the league for a number of years already. He is ready to lead and has incredible determination, and voters should recognize that when it is time to crown the NBA Rookie of the Year.

As was mentioned before, Davis is coming off the bench tonight, and there is no telling how many minutes he will receive.

Still, even if he only plays 20 minutes, he will do all he can to be a top producer in his time on the court. He will not mope, nor will he complain about it. He will listen to his coach, get on the court and do what he does best: play the game.

In doing so, he will remind the fans why he is the Rookie of the Year, and voters had better take note.