Interview by Eric Lopez, Special to LSUsports.net
BATON ROUGE — LSUsports.net will catch up with former Tigers playing in the NBA over the next two months courtesy of Eric Lopez, who covers the Orlando Magic. The first edition features Glen Davis in his third season with the Boston Celtics.
Davis was at his best during the Tigers’ 2006 season when he was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and a first-team All-American for the Wooden Award.
Davis starred as the Tigers captured the SEC regular-season championship with a 14-2 record and then went on to defeat four teams en route to the NCAA Final Four. LSU beat Iona in the opening round, rallying from a halftime deficit, and then used a three-pointer in the final seconds to defeat Texas A&M to advance to the regional semifinals.
There the Tiger magic and Davis’ personality was on display to the nation as he helped lead LSU to upsets over No. 1-ranked Duke and an overtime win over No. 9 Texas that got LSU to its first NCAA Final Four in 20 years. The Tigers jumped out on Texas early in overtime and when Davis came down on a break and shot a three-pointer that broke the Longhorns’ back, CBS Sports announcer Dick Enberg said with a question in his voice, “Glen Davis for 3? Oh my!”
Davis would earn all-region honors for his play in the NCAA Tournament in a year in which he led the SEC in both scoring (18.6) and rebounding (9.7). He would return to LSU for his junior season and despite injuries and intense pressure to perform, he still again led the league in rebounding (10.2) and earned SEC First-Team honors.
Davis was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 35th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Davis’ rights along with Ray Allen were traded to Boston for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and the rights to the fifth overall pick Jeff Green on draft night.
Davis enjoyed immediate success in his rookie campaign as he played in 69 games during regular season and 17 playoff games as the Celtics would go on to win the NBA Championship.
The Baton Rouge native would make a more individual impact during his second season in the league. After appearing in 76 regular season contests, Davis averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds a game over 14 playoff games filling in for an injured Kevin Garnett.
With the Celtics down 2-1 in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic, Davis drilled a 21-foot jumper on the left wing as time expired to give Boston a 95-94 win to even the series.
Davis signed a 2 year, 6.5 million dollar contract with Celtics prior to the 2009-10 season. He missed the first 27 games of the season due to injury and returned to action on Christmas Day against Orlando.