Guilty Pleasure Player: Glen Davis

I'm sure I'll get some flack for this one, but I can take it. My guilty pleasure player is Glen Davis, and bear with me while I try to figure out why.

I guess it goes all the way back to the day he was drafted. Here was a guy who, a year prior to entering the NBA Draft, was a central figure in LSU's run to the Final Four. I can remember seeing the way Davis celebrated the win, and I said to myself,"That is one bad dude."

He looked mean, he looked tough, and he was all over the court. I loved his intensity and heart that he brought with him on the court. If Davis had entered the Draft that season, he would have been a first round pick. He elected to stay one more season, and it ended up hurting his draft stock. The Tigers didn't play like they did the season prior, and Davis didn't get the publicity he most likely thought he was going to get that season.

Davis was somewhat of an afterthought on draft night, the same night the Celtics sent their first round pick (Jeff Green), Delonte West, and Wally Szczerbiak to Seattle for Ray Allen. It would turn out to be a great pick by Danny Ainge that late in the draft, however.

The numbers aren't anything to brag about- 5.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 0.3 blocks over his career. But the man behind the numbers is truly someone you either love, or you hate. For me, it's all love.

I love Davis' effort on the court. He always gives it his all no matter the situation. There is nothing I hate more than watching a player seem uninterested, or simply go through the motions during a game. I can honestly say that I have never once seen Glen Davis give up when he's in the game. Nobody on the team takes a charge more often per 48 minutes than Davis does. The fact that he is undersized as a PF/C does not prevent him from getting in the way of anyone driving to the hoop.

Another thing Davis owns that is hard to match is his energy. How many times throughout his career has he come into the game and provided the spark, whether on offense or defense, that wakes up a sleeping Celtics team? It happens far too often. A team with so many veterans, like the Celtics, needs guys like Glen Davis and Nate Robinson to switch things up a bit.

I know the knock on Davis is his immaturity, and I'm not here to defend that. He has surely had his immature moments. Nobody will forget him crying on the bench after a Kevin Garnett scolding. When he broke his thumb punching his friend, it was an all-time low. I was really disappointed in Davis at that time, but you have to forgive and forget at some point. Davis was apologetic to his fans, teammates, coaches, and management after the incident and when he returned to the team he was a great teammate and extremely instrumental to the Celtics' success in the playoffs.

This brings me to my next point. The thing I love the most about Glen Davis is the fact that he brings it for big games. Some players fold under the pressure, some thrive off of it. Some cringe at the thought of taking the last shot, some call for the ball. Big Baby lives for big games. He dresses the part, plays the part, and talks the part. There's no better quote than Glen Davis after a big win. He steps up when it matters most and what more can you really ask for in a player coming off the bench? You want a guy that you can depend on in pressure situations- when one of your starters is fouled out, injured, or just not on his game- that's when you need a guy like Davis.

Lastly, earlier I mentioned how in college I thought Glen Davis looked like this tough, mean, dude. I was wrong. He's actually one of the friendliest NBA players I've met. For the most part, he knows when to joke around and when to be serious. Some athletes don't give you the time of day, but Davis is one of those guys who will sit there and talk to you about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 all day and then maybe even give you his gamer tag after.

So yes, my guilty pleasure player is the man with as many nicknames as pounds- "Big Baby," "Uno Uno," "Shrek," "The 11^th Hour," "Sweet Feet," "Big Game Glen"- etc. Yes, he has a ridiculous twitter account in which he responds to some of his haters, tries to rap, and even posts a video that you can find on youtube of himself trying to do a dance to the song "Teach Me How to Dougie" (warning: his dance is terrible, and there are swears in the song if you're against that stuff).

Unlike some other guilty pleasure players listed earlier this week, or some guiltly pleasure players we're too embarassed to admit, Glen Davis still has a chance to really be somebody in the NBA for years to come. The only person who can stop him is Glen Davis.