Derick E. Hingle, USA TODAY Sports
The Anthony Davis hype was getting to be suffocating this offseason.
The New Orleans Pelicans’ big man is so widely expected to take “the leap” this year that you had to wonder how much higher he could go. He led Team USA to a gold medal at the FIBA World Cup in Spain. He had the Pelicans on the preseason playoff radar. He was named the third-best player for this season in the NBA by ESPN.
When would he live up to it?
Try 90 seconds into Game One.
Davis finished Tuesday’s season-opener with (*deep breath*) 26 points, 17 rebounds, nine blocks, three steals, two assists, one foul and zero turnovers in 36 minutes. The 101-84 victory against the Orlando Magic wasn’t televised nationally, overshadowed by the San Antonio Spurs getting their championship rings and playing the Dallas Mavericks.
But in Davis, we have the closest thing to the next Tim Duncan that has existed since Tim Duncan. And he wasted no time reminding us of that.
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