Anthony Davis heading to the locker room is a tradition unlike any other, so it was fitting that the star big man’s best game yet with the Los Angeles Lakers started with an early trip there on Tuesday night. 

It turned out he just needed to re-tape his sore right shoulder, which was good news, because he returned to the floor and finished with 40 points, 20 rebounds and two blocks in the Lakers’ 120-91 win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies. 

Forty-point, 20-rebound performances are rare in general, but Davis took his performance to an even more unique place by doing so in just three quarters, and with only 17 shot attempts. He went 7-of-17 from the field, but knocked down an astounding 26-of-27 free throws, the latter of which was a career-high and a Lakers record.

Comparing players to Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain is often a poor idea, but in Davis’ case it simply must be done — not least because all three are Lakers. First of all, Davis was the first Laker to put up 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game since Shaq did it back in 2003.

Yet somehow that’s not even close to the most impressive historical fact about Davis’ performance. In finishing with at least 40 points, 20 rebounds and 25 made free throws, Davis became just the second player in NBA history to put up those numbers in one game. The other? Wilt. 

Oh, and he did it in his historic 100-point game. (Side note: Chamberlain only making 28 free throws en route to 100 points might be the most surprising aspect of that accomplishment.)

Adding to the uniqueness of Davis’ performance is that on a typical 40-point night, there would be a lengthy highlight reel to show, but because he scored so many points at the line, that isn’t the case. You can wrap up all of Davis’ highlights from the night in less than 45 seconds, and that’s with including a few of the free throws. How strange that a night as dominant as Davis’s was at times dull to watch. 

In any case, this type of performance is exactly why Rob Pelinka and the Lakers were so eager to bring Davis to L.A. They essentially sacrificed the second half of last season, and dragged the franchise and many of their players through a traumatic press relations fiasco, but they eventually got their man. 

Was it worth it? Yes, one hundred percent yes. There are only a few players in the league who can take over games like Davis did against the Grizzlies, and the Lakers have one of them.