Playtime's Over: The Rise of Anthony Davis

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"I'm only 21," Davis says. "I still have that inner child in me. I think that will be there for life. You don't want to grow up too fast."

The Mag recently polled one representative from all 30 teams -- either a coach, executive or scout -- and asked those reps to choose the NBA's third-best player behind LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Davis scored the most votes with 10, one more than Chris Paul. Many respondents stressed, though, that if queried at the end of this season, Davis would win in a landslide. And if the voters had been asked to build around a player for the next decade, Davis might have been a unanimous choice.

That's how high the bar is for Davis this season: If he doesn't butt his way into the conversation with LeBron and KD, there will be disappointment, from NBA front offices to Internet message boards to the Twittersphere. As unfair as it may be, popular opinion demands linear progress. And Davis will be expected not only to raise his own game, but also to lift up his team, which has won just 61 games over the past two seasons. In the loaded Western Conference, that task will be nearly impossible: The best-case scenario for New Orleans likely ends with a low playoff seed and a first-round exit.

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When asked to name Davis' best attribute, Pelicans coach Monty Williams pauses like a parent forced to choose his favorite child. Eventually, Williams settles on Davis' ability to run the floor, but he just as easily could have picked the power forward's quickness and reach as a shot-blocker, his rebounding acumen (which will only be aided this season by his newly chiseled shoulders) or the touch and grace he displays in finishing plays near the rim. Plus, Davis can dribble, pass and knock down face-up jumpers, and it won't be long before he displays 3-point range. "His strength," says one GM, "is that he has no weakness."

His potential appears limitless. And that's the problem.

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DAVIS IS AWARE. He saw what happened to his friend Irving. "I'm still trying to figure out how to lead," he admits. Later, he adds, "You can't control the outcome of the game."

At the same time, Davis understands the responsibility that he must embrace: "I want to be one of those guys where we're going to win or lose on me."

If those statements seem to contradict each other, or at least show some form of internal conflict, that's because they do. Davis is both ready to seize the moment and anxious about the process of doing so. In other words, he is 21 years old. And as he talks about his worries and hopes, he is refreshingly self-aware, sounding more like anyone else his age than someone trying to project NBA-level machismo.

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One NBA GM says that Davis plays "too straight up and down" on defense, instead of keeping a low center of gravity. He relies too much on his length rather than proper positioning and footwork. "And everybody knows it," the GM says with a laugh. But at the same time, the GM expresses little doubt that Davis will eventually lick that problem, just as he will improve his post moves on offense.

That's the exciting thing about Davis: As good as he is, there's still room to grow. But as he said, development takes time. It's up to all of us not to rush him. Chances are, it'll be worth the wait.

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