Anthony Davis believes that he's better than LeBron James and Kevin Durant

Anthony Davis, the superstar of pelicans in New Orleans, says nothing.

This 25-year-old phenomenon has not only allowed his career goal to become Chicago's greatest basketball player – a city that has produced countless Hall of Famers, including Isiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade, and (briefly) ) Kevin Garnett. – but he clarified his belief that he was already the NBA's best player during an interview with Rachel Nichols of ESPN, aired Thursday.

"Honestly, I consider myself the best player in the league, the most dominant player in the league," Davis told Nichols to begin a revealing segment of seven minutes. "I just think the time has come for this step. You only have a small window, and I do not want this window to close, so I think my time is up. "

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "This is not the first time that Davis made it the fivefold star player watched in a camera last month and said, "In my eyes, I'm the best player of the game. I really feel it, and nobody can tell me differently. But he said that a little in the media, tell the journalists"I think I'm very close. I think I'm the most dominant player, but it's my job to try to convince you [in the media]. "" Data-reactid = "28"> This is not the first time Davis makes this statement. The fivefold All-Star watched in a camera last month and said, "In my eyes, I'm the best player of the game. I really feel it, and nobody can tell me differently. But he said that a little in the media, tell the journalists"I think I'm very close. I think I'm the most dominant player, but it's my job to try to convince you [in the media]. "

But there was no way of saying it this time. Davis believes that he has no peers in the NBA, even when Nichols insisted that the league still has guys named LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

"Do not mistake yourself. Both of these players are excellent, but I think I bring something unique to the table. My game is different from these two players – both ends of the hall, MVP candidate and defensive player of the year – so I feel like my name should be at the top of the list. "

This is true. Nine years have passed since James finished a distant second behind Dwight Howard in the postal vote (DPOY) and five years as the first all-defensive team. Durant obviously thinks that the only reason he did not receive a DPOY award is because "it's pure hatred for me," but after being very excited about this opportunity last year, he failed to restore a fully defensive team.

What James and Durant have on Davis, besides the ability to play, is a proven record of victories. James has three championship rings and eight consecutive appearances at the NBA Finals in his name. Durant's resume includes two titles, two MVPs in the final and three appearances in the final with two different teams.

Davis said he understands that winning means everything. What he did not say, and always understood, was that LeBron and KD did not do it alone. James won two rings with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and a third with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Durant competed in the finals with Russell Westbrook and James Harden and two others with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Davis has never played a full season with someone as talented as these guys. You can imagine how much the Warriors would still be dominant with Davis instead of Durant. (They want it too, from elsewhere.)

The Pelicans outscored their opponents by 5.3 points for 100 possessions. Davis was chosen on the ground last season. They were outclassed by 5.6 points out of 100 when he joined the bench – a net difference of 10.6. LeBron finished with an odds on / off of 3.6 last season, and a duration of Durant, of 2.8, which gives credit to all that is more "dominant", because Davis had to be more dominant .

He scored 28.1 points on average (second behind James Harden), 11.1 rebounds (fifth best in the NBA) and 2.6 blocks per game, which puts him at the top of the standings, and he 's the only one to win. is ranked among the leaders in almost all advanced statistical categories. And the Pelicans needed everything to qualify for the playoffs in a frantic seven-team race for the last six places of the Western Conference. When Davis says he is "the best" and the "most dominant player in the league", sometimes he is wary of him to make no mistake.

Yet victory is what eats you up. Davis took his team out of the playoffs for the first time last season after failing in the playoffs in four of his previous five years. Meanwhile, LeBron and KD have met in the finals in the past two seasons and have played 16 finals. They are always on our television screens and, therefore, deeper in our NBA consciousness.

They are probably also better basketball players, if only because they can create by themselves, but they both have passed their 30th birthday and there will probably be a point when Davis will cross a threshold and will take the title of best player in the world. World. Who is to say that it will not be this season, really.

The story continues