(David Becker/Getty Images)
By Demarcus 'Doc' Robinson
Everyone is excited about Anthony Davis for reason or another. Long arms, a trademark unibrow, blocked shots, mysterious offensive potential, etc. But I'm interested in something different, but familiar since it will involve all of his skill sets.
5x5 stat lines y'all!
For the more casual readers a 5x5 is when a player racks up five in five categories - points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks. Technically turnovers would count, but that's the bad kind. This is the funnest of all the stat occurrences. It's not only the one that puts the biggest smile on my face, it's also amongst the rarest. Many casual fans are familiar with double-doubles and triple-doubles, and are awed by the display of either. Triple-doubles, in particular, hold a sort of lore with more seasoned fans at times even. Oscar Robertson, Jason Kidd, LeBron James and Rajon Rondo have all progressed the fondness of the episode through repeated displays. Conversely, the 5x5 has lived mostly in the shadow while only displaying its greatness ever so often.
There are only 14 5x5 games to date in NBA history, and of those one man is responsible for nearly half of them. Hakeem 'The Dream' Olajuwon. Dream is responsible for six of the mystifying anomalies. His 5x5s weren't just that, they were other worldly. This is saying something when the accomplishment itself is very rare. One of Olajuwon's 5x5s looked like this: 38 points, 17 rebounds, 12 blocks, seven steals and six assists. Another registered as such: 29 points, 18 rebounds, 11 blocks, five steals and nine assists. Take a second and let that marinate.
The other eight entries belong to the following players: Andrei Kirilenko (3x), David Robinson, Derrick Coleman, Vlade Divac, Jamal Tinsley and Marcus Camby. Look at that list, there's no Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, LeBron James or etc on that list. Tons of great players who, at first thought, you would assume had at least one such game. You would especially assume a guy like KG would have racked up one during his long and amazing career. Nope. There have been a number of close calls with players falling one short in one or two categories, but close doesn't cut it with the 5x5.
There are currently veteran players who could add the accomplishment to their long list of accolades, but we're not here for them. I just want 5x5s from Davis, he of the unibrow. He stands 6'10.5" (in shoes), has a 7'5.5" wingspan, and a 9' reach. Combine those physical measurements with his obvious athletic skill. He's not running around tripping over his own two feet, but instead he's very coordinated and knows what to do with his abilities. He's a great shot blocker because of his body, but more so because he knows how to anticipate. He just has a feel for that and defense. He grabs rebounds as well. With those long limbs he should be able to pester passing lanes as well to snatch away lazy passes. He'll also anticipate good passes and take those away as well.
On the flip side there's offense, and he's not really hurting in that department. Davis can score, and doesn't feel uncomfortable with the ball like some big men. This can be attributed to him being a guard before his defining growth spurt. I'm not sure how adept he is at passing, but a player of his level can certainly stumble into five assists. It's not like he's Nick Young or anything.
I won't say Davis gets a 5x5 his rookie season, but I'll go ahead and say there's a good chance he notches one this upcoming season. Going forward as he hones his skills and picks up on little nuances within the game he may be able to challenge the six put up by Dream. Ambitious on my part? Absolutely, but it's a fun stat and I want to see it. There's the saddening possibility that Davis comes up short in
I just hope Davis doesn't donate his humiliated bones to the graveyard as well. If he did it would be a true Sadderday.
