[11][15] Davis began his junior basketball season at 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m),[11][15] saying he felt fortunate to have had such a rapid growth spurt without any knee pains.

[16] During his junior year, his family considered having him transfer to one of Chicago's basketball powerhouses, but Hyde Park Career Academy head coach Donnie Kirksey advised against it, saying "If you're good enough, they'll find you wherever you are".

[11] Although he remained unnoticed nationally and locally after three seasons of Chicago Public League play,[10][17] he was soon thereafter rated as the number one player in the class of 2011 by Scout.com[18] and was listed in the ESPNU 100.

O'Brien wrote "sources from three separate universities told the Sun-Times that Davis Sr. asked for money in return for his son's commitment, with the amounts ranging from $125,000 to $150,000.

[22] In high school, Davis earned numerous honors for his basketball abilities, including being named to the 2011 McDonald's All-American Game and the 10th annual Jordan Brand Classic.

"[60] Less than a month into the season, ESPN's Andy Katz described him similarly: "Davis offers a multitude of skills for the Wildcats with his ability to block shots, run the floor, score in the low post and face up to the basket.

[38][124] In the January 17 contest against Arkansas, Davis set the Kentucky men's basketball record for single-season blocked shots surpassing Melvin Turpin and Andre Riddick, who each had 83.

[125] On February 4, against South Carolina, Davis established the SEC freshman record with 116 blocks surpassing Shaquille O'Neal's total set for LSU.

[128] On March 25, Davis established the SEC single-season blocked shots record in the NCAA Tournament South Regional Championship game victory over Baylor,[91] surpassing Jarvis Varnado's total of 169.

Davis declared for the 2012 NBA draft alongside the rest of the national championship team starting five: fellow freshmen Kidd-Gilchrist and Teague, and sophomores Jones and Doron Lamb.

[171] According to ESPN, while drawing a charging foul from Amar'e Stoudemire, Davis suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand in the first quarter against the New York Knicks on December 1.

[211] On December 2, Davis fell one assist and one block short of becoming the youngest NBA player to ever record a five-by-five with a 25-point, 10-rebound, 4-assist, 6-steal, 4-block performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

[212] Davis entered the December 12, 2014, contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a player efficiency rating (PER) of 32.9, which would be the highest in NBA history if maintained for the full season.

Although swept by the overall number one seeded Golden State Warriors, who went on to win the NBA championship,[230] Davis joined Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Karl Malone as the only players in the past 20 seasons to average 30 points and 10 rebounds in the playoffs.

[242] On January 15, Davis converted an alley oop dunk from Jrue Holiday with 2 seconds remaining to give New Orleans a 109–107 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

[280] On February 2, he passed West as the franchise's all-time leading scorer by posting 43 points in a win against the Los Angeles Clippers giving him a total of 8,702.

[290] In Game 4, Davis scored 33 of his franchise playoff-record 47 points in the second half, as the Pelicans completed a first-round sweep of the Trail Blazers with a 131–123 victory.

[326] They advanced to the 2020 NBA Finals, where Davis and LeBron James led the Lakers to a 4–2 win over the Miami Heat for the franchise's 17th championship, tying them with Boston for the most in league history.

[353] On November 13, 2022, Davis scored 37 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in a 116–103 win over the Brooklyn Nets, to help the Los Angeles Lakers snap a five-game losing streak.

Davis also became just the third Laker in franchise history to record 30-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in four consecutive games, joining Elgin Baylor (had seven such streaks) and Shaquille O'Neal (November 19–26, 1999).

Davis became only the fourth player to score at least 99 points in a two-game span while shooting at least 70% from the field; Elgin Baylor had three of those streaks, Wilt Chamberlain had two and David Thompson had one.

Davis averaged 38.7 points (.652 FG%, .806 FT%), 11.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 2.0 blocks in three games, as the Lakers finished the week 3–0 with road victories over Chicago, Minnesota and Houston.

[369] In Game 3 of the Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Davis put up 31 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks in a 111–101 win.

[376][377] On January 9, 2024, he scored 20 of his season-high 41 points in the fourth quarter on 13-of-17 shooting, 2-of-2 from three, 13-of-14 from the free throw line along with eleven rebounds and six assists in a 132–131 win over the Toronto Raptors.

[386] On March 26, Davis recorded 34 points, 23 rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks, playing a career-high 52 minutes in a 128–124 double overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

[392] On November 15, Davis scored a season-high 40 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, including drilling two pivotal 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of a 120–115 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

[396][397] Ahead of the league's February trade deadline, he renewed calls for the Lakers to acquire a center, freeing him to play his preferred power forward position.

[400] On February 2, 2025, Davis was traded, alongside Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris.

[417] By the beginning of July, he was one of six players (along with Blake Griffin, James Harden, Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala and Eric Gordon) competing for the final three roster spots, according to USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo.

[418] It was reported that Davis "suffered a severely sprained ankle in a workout" on June 30 and "almost assuredly [would] bypass a chance to play for Team USA [that] summer in the London Olympics.