National Basketball Association

Anthony Davis is back, but can he lead the Los Angeles Lakers minus LeBron?

Updated Apr. 23, 2021 12:22 a.m. ET

For the first time in more than two months, "The Brow" was ready to suit up for the defending champions.

Anthony Davis had been sidelined for the Los Angeles Lakers with an Achilles injury since Valentine's Day but he made his return in Thursday's clash against the Dallas Mavericks.

Davis returned with a minute limit of 15 minutes, starting against the Mavericks and exhausting that limit in the first half. He scored four points on 2-for-10 shooting from the field, displaying rust built up over his two-month absence. The Mavericks would go on to win the game 115-110 behind the 30 points of Luka Doncic.

The Mavericks improved to 32-26, while the Lakers dropped to 35-24.

Davis, while rusty with his shooting stroke, was able to contribute four rebounds, one assist, one block and a steal against the Mavericks, displaying the all-around game that makes him one of the NBA's best players.

His return is seen as a big boost for the Lakers, who have been treading water since LeBron James also picked up an injury amid Davis' prolonged absence.

The Lakers are 7-10 in the 17 games they've played since James went down with a high right ankle sprain.

James' status is still cloudy, meaning, as Dave McMenamin pointed out on "The Jump," Davis will be looked at as Los Angeles' No. 1 option until "The King" returns.

Since joining the LeBron and the Lakers ahead of the 2019-20 season, Davis hasn't had to be "the man" for a team for an extended period.

Those days were back when he was with the New Orleans Pelicans, when he averaged 23.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in the seven seasons prior to his move to Los Angeles.

The then-Hornets drafted Davis out of Kentucky with the No. 1 overall pick in 2012, and he quickly became a perennial All-Star.

However, his Pelicans made just two playoff appearances, getting swept by the Warriors in the first round of the 2015 playoffs and losing 4-1 to Golden State in 2018's Western Conference semis.

He found much greater success in his first season with the Lakers, when he and LeBron led the team to its first NBA Championship since 2009-10.

With that in mind, Colin Cowherd broached the discussion of Anthony Davis as a leader on Thursday's episode of "The Herd."

For Cowherd, Davis is a great player, but not a great leader. However, if Davis is partnered with an alpha, like LeBron, then it's all but a wrap for the rest of the league.

Ryen Russillo, host of "The Ryen Russillo Podcast," disputed Cowherd's notion.

For Russillo, Davis' credentials far outweigh a player such as Rasheed Wallace, who oozed talent but didn't make the championship jump in the playoffs until he joined the Detroit Pistons at age 29.

"I think the 'Sheed comp is so far off here," Russillo said. "Because as good as 'Sheed was, he was somebody that was complementary, like, incredibly complementary when he was in Detroit.

"... If you go [Player Efficiency Rating], which I think does a good job of telling us the extremes, you want to know who No. 1 is? It's this guy named Michael Jordan, all right? All-time. No. 2 is LeBron James. No. 3, right now, in career PER, is Anthony Davis. Rasheed Wallace is at No. 241. They're not the same guy."

The good news is, barring a major setback, there's little reason to expect Davis will have to lead the Lakers in the postseason sans LeBron.

But he'll get a chance at some regular-season action to prove he can if the situation should arise.

His action against the Mavericks on Thursday showed rust, but also some promising signs as the Lakers await LeBron's return.

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