John Calipari on Anthony Davis: 'In 5 years, he could be the best player in the NBA'

Kentucky head coach John Calipari is a big fan of his former pupil Anthony Davis.

"Right now, you look at [Davis] and say, 'Man, in five years, he could be the best player in the NBA,'" Calipari told USA Today. "And this USA Basketball stuff pushes that date sooner. Again, here's what it does for him: how to work, new things to add to his game, and confidence like, 'These are the best in the world, so I'm all right.'"

As previously mentioned, Anthony is a former Wildcat, so Calipari could be overstating his claim to trumpet an ex-student of his. However, that doesn't make his statement any less true.

In five years, LeBron James will be 34 and nearing the end of his prime. That leaves Kevin Durant, who will be 30, as the main competitor to the "best player alive" throne. Could a 26-year-old Anthony best Durant in his prime?

It certainly wouldn't be easy, especially since Durant is already the best scorer in the NBA. Not only has Durant led the NBA in total points scored over the past five seasons, he's boasts a career true-shooting percentage of 60 percent and Durant's PER of 29.8 bested even that of LeBron's last season.

But Davis isn't that far behind. While it's unlikely that Davis will ever reach Durant's level as a scorer, Davis has the potential to become an All-NBA stopper as a defensive plug. His mix of quickness and size already culminated in a league-leading 2.8 blocks per game last season. A little more seasoning and maturing could see Davis transform into a two-way monster.