Contrary to what most would believe, it is Anthony Davis who should be thankful the New Orleans Hornets won the No. 1 pick in Wednesday night's NBA lottery drawing, and not another team.
Of all the teams that had a realistic shot at getting the No. 1 pick -- and Davis -- the Hornets are built to maximize his strengths best for at least the next few seasons. That is because Hornets coach Monty Williams has a terrific defensive mind, and he is attuned to his players and getting them to defend with pride, passion and toughness on every possession. Initially, the game is going to be way too fast for Davis. However, with the coaching he'll receive, and the example his teammates will set in the form of doing their jobs on defense every night, Davis already has a huge leg up to be rookie of the year.
To read more about how Anthony Davis can help transform the New Orleans Hornets, become an Insider today.
David Thorpe
NBA- NBA Analyst for ESPN.com
- Executive director of Pro Training Center
- Started coaching career in 1987
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David Thorpe
David Thorpe is an NBA analyst for ESPN.com's Scouts Inc. and the executive director of the Pro Training Center in Clearwater, Fla., where he oversees the player development program for NBA and college players. David has trained Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer, Omri Casspi, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Yi Jianlian, Courtney Lee, Kyrylo Fesenko, Earl Clark, Jrue Holiday, DeJuan Blair and others.
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