Davis followed superstar team-mate LeBron James this week by agreeing to fresh terms in Los Angeles, the seven-time All Star having signed a five-year deal reportedly worth $190million.
The Lakers won their first championship since 2010 last year in the Orlando bubble at Walt Disney World Resort, defeating the Miami Heat 4-2 in the Finals.
Davis averaged 27.7 points in the postseason, placing him seventh in the overall standings and above James and MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Overall, he became the highest-scoring team-mate of James' career, averaging 26.1 points per game in his first year in LA following his trade from the New Orleans Pelicans.
The 27-year-old finished sixth in the voting last season and has never placed higher than third, but team-mate Dudley expects him to be primed to chase personal accolades.
"I'm expecting AD to go for the MVP," the Lakers forward said. "I'm expecting him to set the tone.
"We know [LeBron James], his years playing this league, the accolades he has, but AD doesn't have some of the accolades. He has the talent, he has the determination. He's the future and he's the now."
With Davis, James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tied down to new deals and smart recruitment in the form of Dennis Schroder and former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol, the Lakers have enjoyed one of the strongest offseasons.
Markieff Morris summed up the importance of the Lakers' business, saying: "We're led by the best player in the world, and then the second-best player in the world. Or 1A and 1B, however you want to do it."
Kyle Kuzma, whose own future remains uncertain, admits the success of last season has left him eager for more.
"It's a very good time for those guys," said Kuzma, the Lakers' top-scoring player off the bench last season with 11.4 per game. "Both very deserving.
"Obviously, bringing home championship number 17, those guys deserve it. They're helluva players obviously, don't need to keep repeating that. I'm very happy for those guys.
"I think [winning the championship] just puts more confidence under your belt. At the end of the day, you're a winner and that's something that no one can ever take from you. Especially being a part of it, being a key piece, it kind of just motivates you in a different type of light, you know.
"Especially going from you know, let's say you don't make the playoffs and your season ends early and you're motivated because you want to get into the playoffs. It's kind of the same thing winning the championship. You want to win more, you want to win and you just want to be successful and that's what it's brought."
He added on discussions over his own contract: "We've talked. It's obviously just talk between my agent and the organisation, they are working through things. We'll see."
Western Conference leaders the Lakers brought in Morris after waiving injured center DeMarcus Cousins.
Morris negotiated a buyout with the Detroit Pistons on Friday and joins the Lakers – who are led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis and looking to win a championship.
The 30-year-old Morris, the twin brother of Los Angeles Clippers recruit Marcus, averaged 11 points and 1.6 assists in 44 appearances for the Pistons this season.
In 623 career games with the Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit, Morris has averaged 11.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
The Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 114-112 on Sunday to extend their winning streak to five games and improve to 43-12 atop the west.
Davis marked his debut in the NBA Finals with a sensational performance in the 116-98 blowout of the Miami Heat in Orlando on Wednesday, putting up 34 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
Superstar James was similarly important for the Lakers with 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in the Game 1 contest but Morris said Davis' contributions at both end of the court mark him out from the rest.
"It's easy for AD," Morris said in quotes reported by ESPN. "Like I've been saying since I got on this team, honestly, if you ask me...we got LeBron but I think he [Davis] is the best player in the world.
"He [does] it on both ends, he's doing it consistently every night, he gives you what you ask for every night."
Only Allen Iverson (48), Kevin Durant (36) and Michael Jordan (36) have managed to score more points on an NBA Finals bow than Davis since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77, while Shaquille O'Neal with 43 and George Mikan with 42 are the only players to score more in their first Lakers Finals game.
"It's a great honour to be in that category with those guys," said Davis.
"I mean, they have done so much for the game, Hall of Famers, and for me to come out and perform that way and be mentioned with those guys, obviously that's a great honour, but I also want to be mentioned in categories with champions, so that's the next step."
Morris was fined $50,000 for a Flagrant 2 foul that precipitated the incident, which saw both players ejected from the game. The Nuggets went on to win 113-96.
Miami's Jimmy Butler also was fined $30,000 for "attempting to escalate the altercation" and refusing to submit to an interview with NBA security as it investigated the matter.
Jokic reacted angrily when Morris came in with a hard foul at midcourt with 2:39 to play in the game, catching his opponent with a left elbow to the chest.
Last season's NBA MVP charged after Morris and responded with a right forearm shove to the back, sending the Heat player crashing heavily to the court.
Both teams' coaching staffs sprang from their benches to try and restore order along with the referees.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra called it a "very dangerous, dirty play" by Jokic, who expressed regret following the game.
"It's a stupid play. I feel bad. I am not supposed to react that way," Jokic told reporters. "... I just needed to protect myself. I felt bad. I am not supposed to react that way, but I need to protect myself."
Jokic will have to sit out Denver's game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
Ultimately, that change would be Markieff Morris and Victor Oladipo falling out of the rotation entirely, playing zero combined minutes.
The Heat looked great with their new line-ups, which featured Max Strus slotting into a starting role, winning each of the first three quarters comfortably on the way to a 123-100 victory.
Speaking to post-game media, Spoelstra made a point of protecting his benched players' feelings, and stressed that more tinkering would be ahead.
"These are tough decisions, and there are a lot of different things that could work, but we just felt like at this particular time that these moves may clean up some things with the rotation," he said.
"Those aren't easy decisions, and I think we all just have to have empathy and grace for some of these changes for the guys that didn't necessarily play tonight.
"It's about understanding that we have a roster full of proven, capable guys, and we're going to need everybody, particularly in this final push and in the playoffs.
"A lot of it will be matchup-based… we'll just keep an open mind about what we may need to do moving forward."
Spoelstra went on to say that the difference in this game was about far more than simply benching two solid players.
"This wasn't a 'one move' thing – we were very disappointed about the past four games, and this has been trending, really, even before that, when we were winning," he said.
"It's not an indictment on anybody – sometimes these things can be chemistry things, sometimes it's just the flow of certain guys playing off of each other.
"The ball and body movement was better – less holding [the ball], we're moving the ball, guys were able to play to their strengths. It was less stagnant for sure.
"We've seen what Jimmy [Butler] can do when he has open spaces to be able to be creative, and be able to attack, and be able to make plays. I know he hit three three-pointers tonight – I love that – but he was in a lot of places where he can be successful and effective.
"There were a lot of different layers to [today's moves] – again, it's just one game. Our roster is deep, and our roster checks a lot of different boxes, which we feel you need in the playoffs.
"Each series – if we're fortunate enough to play multiple series – they have totally different needs and complexions, and we feel like versatility and our depth is really one of the greatest strengths of this team."
Miami regained the Eastern Conference one seed with the result, but it will switch hands once again if they cannot defeat the surging Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
