Ann Killion

Here in the Bay Area we've had more than our fair share of star athletes.

We have our legends (Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Willie Mays), our favorites (Willie McCovey, Chris Mullin, Steve Young), our lightning rods (Barry Bonds) our discards (Terrell Owens). We've had our reclamation projects that didn't work out (Randy Moss) and those that did (Joe Thornton).

And now we have Baron Davis, who in the past week has dribbled hard right into our sports pantheon.

The Warriors-Mavericks playoff series was the best in the NBA so far. And Davis has been the very best player.

Davis is doing what great players do — seizing the big moment and transforming it into his own. Stamping it with his signature and his likeness — biblical beard and all.

He's been saving his best performance for the biggest stage. You wouldn't expect anything less from a player who grew up rubbing shoulders with Hollywood offspring and with the stars of Lakers Showtime.

Davis took theater classes at Crossroads High in Santa Monica. He learned about Showtime moments from Magic Johnson, who took Davis under his wing in pickup games at UCLA. Davis has his own film production company.

So Davis knows Hollywood He knows drama. He knows captivating basketball. And he’s putting on a heck of a show right now.

It has been, quite frankly, mind-blowing to watch. Let loose to run Don Nelson's fast-paced, creative offense, Davis has not only transformed the moribund Warriors into one of the league's most entertaining teams, he has transformed himself into one of the great players in the league.

It's a far cry from his previous reputation as a declining, oft-injured malcontent.

Davis has always had this potential. He was a star in the making with the Hornets, the team that drafted him. But he was felled by injuries, clashed with coach Byron Scott and was traded in February 2005 to the Warriors for Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis.

That’s right: Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis. That’s what Davis was worth back then.

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Over two seasons with the Warriors, Davis has missed 43 games due to injury — but Warriors fans are accustomed to none of their team showing up at all for about 50 games a season, so they weren’t too upset. Davis didn’t seem interested when the Warriors did their ritual fade from contention — but Warriors fans had usually lost all interest themselves in the team by that point so they could understand. Davis clashed with former coach Mike Montgomery — but he never choked him, so for Warriors fans that was a bonus.

In other words, Warriors fans had seen worse. A lot worse.

So Davis was cut plenty of slack. And then along came Nelson and the big trade with Indianapolis and Jason Richardson coming back from injury and Davis finishing up his own annual injury. And the Warriors put together a late-season push to make the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.

And now on the big stage, at the big party, Davis is reclaiming all that promise he left behind. Owning the spotlight. He’s earning that goofy “Boom Dizzle” nickname in a big, big way.

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He is leading the series in scoring, averaging 26 points per game and 40.6 minutes per game. He leads the series in assists and steals. He’s already put together a highlight film of big moments: from his 33 points in Game 1 to his half-court three-pointer at the halftime buzzer in Game 4.

He’s transformed Oracle Arena in Staples Center north, bringing a touch of Hollywood to a franchise that has been 100 percent glamour-free for the past 13 years. Kate Hudson, Davis’ Crossroads classmate, has been in the crowd, as has Jessica Alba — whose boyfriend, Cash Warren, was Davis’ teammate in high school (and who’s father, actor Mike, played at UCLA for John Wooden).

We’ve seen a lot of interesting athletes in the Bay Area. But we may have never seen one remake his team and himself in such quick, miraculous and entertaining fashion.

“There’s a lot of Magic in him,” Mullin, the Warriors executive vice president who traded for Davis, told a reporter last week.

Mullin was talking about the famous player. But he could have been talking about the fairy dust. Because Davis has brought it to the Warriors.

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