Why you've already missed Anthony Davis' coming out party

Anthony Davis stole the show from Derrick Rose against Brazil on Saturday night, in what many are calling a coming out party for the young All-Star.

There’s one problem with that, though - Davis didn’t need a coming out party after the phenomenal year he put together last season.

Sure, Davis' performance against Brazil in a friendly international was impressive given the other stars in American colors, but his performance over the course of the 2013-14 season was such that no one should have needed a head-turning summer showing to validate his status as one of the game's best.

Davis averaged 20.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 1.6 assists, and 1.3 steals in only his second NBA season. If those numbers don’t grab your attention, consider that only 14 players have averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks, one assist, and one steal in a season since 1973-74 (when blocks and steals were first recorded).

Those 14? Hakeem Olajuwon (12 times), David Robinson (7 times), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7 times), Patrick Ewing (4 times), Elvin Hayes (3 times), Bob McAdoo (3 times), Dwight Howard (3 times), Bob Lanier (twice), Moses Malone, Ralph Sampson, Kevin Garnett, Alonzo Mourning, Elton Brand, and Antonio McDyess.

Yes, Davis posted those numbers on a Pelicans team that went 34-48 and missed the playoffs by 15 games, but this wasn’t the case of a youngster inefficiently chucking his way to inflated averages or simply accumulating base statistics thanks to unearned playing time on a bad team.

No, Davis maintained stunning efficiency despite a usage rate above 25, which only slightly trailed Tim Duncan’s, and his advanced metrics are as complimentary as his basic measures, if not more so.

Davis produced 10.4 Win Shares last season, posted a Player Efficiency Rating of 26.5, and led the league with a block percentage of 6.7, according to Basketball Reference. Sticking with historical comparisons, the only other players in Basketball Reference’s record books to post a season of 10-plus Win Shares with a 26-plus PER and a block percentage above six are David Robinson (four times) and Hakeem Olajuwon.

Davis’ 2013-14 campaign was the first such season since The Admiral accomplished the feat in 1995-96.

Davis is only 21 years old

Davis still has room to grow, figuratively and literally. His overall defense can use some seasoning, he missed 33 games through his first two seasons, and many will say he has to carry the Pelicans to the postseason - or at least to relevance - to truly arrive as a superstar, which seems unfair in the unforgiving Western Conference.

Whether he and the Pelicans can remain healthy enough to stick around in the West playoff race remains to be seen, but even with that aforementioned room for improvement, Davis’ 2013-14 season was an arrival in itself. And when you consider the leap he made from his rookie season to his second year, it’s frightening to think of the possibilities for him in 2014-15 and beyond.

In fact, if there’s an active player with any chance to crash the James-Durant party atop the NBA hierarchy in the near future, it’s probably Davis.

Saturday night in Chicago may have reinforced that point, but he didn’t need it to.