Is former UK basketball star Anthony Davis entering the MVP discussion?

Anthony Davis starred for the Kentucky Wildcats during their run to the 2012 National Championship. Is former Kentucky basketball star entering the NBA MVP conversation?

Anthony Davis was the star of the show during the Kentucky Wildcats run to the 2012 National Championship. As a freshman, the 6’10”, 220-pounds center from Chicago took home a lot of hardware. Davis was a consensus All-American. He won the Wooden Award, Naismith Award and the Rupp Trophy. Now in his 6th season as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Davis is trying to add another piece of hardware to his trophy case, NBA MVP.

Davis has been on a tear of late, and he’s led the Pelicans to 6 straight wins. Three of those wins have come against playoff caliber teams (Milwaukee, Miami and Detroit). If Davis can somehow lead the Pels to a 7th straight win (New Orleans plays San Antonio Wednesday night), then it’s time to look at The Brow as a serious contender for the NBA MVP.

Over the Pelicans’ 6-game winning streak, Davis has averaged an astounding 41.5 points. More over, Davis is pulling down 15 rebounds per game in that same 6-game stretch, and he’s blocked 19 shots. That is flat out getting done on both sides of the floor folks.

Anthony Davis gets lost, all too often, in the conversation for the best players in the NBA. Everyone is always looking for the next big thing. Players with a lot of potential, such as Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kristaps Porzingis, overshadow the production that Davis has put in year in and year out.

And now this season, without DeMarcus Cousins, Davis has stepped his game up even more. The 5-time All Star is averaging 28.2 points per game. That’s 5 points higher than his career average. In fact, all of Davis’ stats are elevated this season.

Anthony Davis vs James Harden

I know James Harden is the front-runner right, but Davis’ name deserves to be in the discussion. Harden is, of course, the captain of the lead-leading Houston Rockets. Harden is putting up 31.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 8.9 assists. The Beard is shooting 45% from the field and 38.4% from deep.

Davis is averaging 28.2 points, 11 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. He’s hitting 53.8% of his shots and is knocking down 34.5% from downtown. A statistic that cannot be overlooked is Harden’s turnovers. He averages 4.3 per game and Davis only turns the ball over 2.1 times per game on average.

Anthony Davis may not yet be in the NBA MVP conversation. But, if he has a similar game to last night’s win against the Suns (53 points, 18 rebounds, 5 blocks and 3 assists) when New Orleans plays San Antonio on Wednesday, then we may have another horse in the race for NBA MVP.