In 2003, an 18-year-old LeBron James, the most hyped prospect in modern sports history, was selected by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Since then, he has dominated the NBA, cementing his legacy as one of the, if not the, single greatest basketball player to ever walk the Earth. However, LeBron’s career, 15 years strong, is bound to come to a close within the next few years. This will leave his role as the premier face of the NBA wide open for the taking. While there are many viable candidates for this position, NBA executives should be looking at Anthony Davis, the NBA’s next great superstar.

Davis became a very familiar face to NBA scouts long before he was drafted first overall in 2012. Davis was an absolute monster in high school, combining his freakish 6’8” frame and 7’3” wingspan with a lethal jump shot to absolutely decimate opposing double and triple-teams. Davis was named an All-American in his senior year and was the top-ranked recruit in the country. Davis decided to continue his basketball journey at Kentucky, under the tutelage of legendary coach John Calipari, where he joined a loaded recruiting class that included four other players on the ESPN 100. In Lexington, Davis won the Naismith Memorial Trophy as a freshman as the nation’s most outstanding player, leading Kentucky to a perfect conference record and the eighth national championship in school history. Soon after, Davis, the consensus number-one pick, declared for the 2012 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the then New Orleans Hornets (the team became the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2013 offseason, while the Charlotte Bobcats became the Pelicans’ old name). Battling an injury-clad season, Davis registered 20 double-doubles and was voted to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind only Damian Lillard. Davis continued his rise to stardom in the 2013-14 season, averaging 20.8 points and earning his first trip to the NBA All-Star Game. In 2015, Davis led the Pelicans to their first playoff series under their new franchise name. Despite being swept by the eventual NBA champion Warriors, Davis averaged 31.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks, becoming the first player to average 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff series in 40 years. Davis was rewarded for his outstanding play with a massive five-year, $145 million contract in July of 2015.

Despite having a star in Davis, the Pelicans have had little else in terms of talent since the departure of Chris Paul in 2011, a year before Davis was drafted. This led the Pelicans to pursue a major superstar, which they received via a blockbuster trade with the Sacramento Kings. The Pelicans traded away several role players in exchange for Demarcus “Boogie” Cousins, a 6’11”, 269-pound behemoth who, like Davis, had never had much help in terms of talent before joining Davis in New Orleans. This led many people to believe that the Pelicans would become a playoff team this year and a potential contender in the West. These dreams were quickly shattered, however, when Cousins tore his Achilles in late January, ending his season before the All-Star break. With Cousins sidelined, the burden of carrying the team once again fell to Davis, who has not disappointed thus far. This season, Davis is averaging 28.2 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks, en route to leading the Pelicans back to the playoffs, where the team currently sits as the fifth-ranked team in the Western Conference.

Davis’ dominance this season has been something out of a fairytale. He’s putting up numbers that have never been seen before. When he gets hot, he can’t be stopped. During a nine-game winning streak earlier this season, Davis’ averaged 39.3 points, and he has registered three 50-point, 15-rebound games this year, the most such games in more than a decade. This is no surprise to hardcore NBA followers, as Davis has been putting up insane stats since he first graced an NBA court, and even before that. Before even suiting up in New Orleans, Davis, 19 years old at the time, joined the 2012 USA Men’s Olympic Basketball team, where he played alongside basketball legends such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

Anthony Davis is a force to be reckoned with in the NBA. He already has a polished jump shot, can transition up and down the court, and uses his lightning-quick agility to block potential shots, sending the ball flying three rows deep in the stands. Adding in his monstrous size (he is currently 6’11” and still growing) and his incredible court vision, Davis is simply too good to be stopped when he is on his game, and he has already proven that repeatedly. If Demarcus Cousins comes back fully healthy, the rest of the league should be on high alert; the NBA’s next superstar is on the rise, and he isn’t going anywhere