Anthony Davis’ injury broke LA Lakers fans’ hearts when they learned that he would be out for a while. The star center has been on the sidelines since December 2022. The Lakers have done surprisingly well in his absence, as LeBron James appears to have full control of the ship. In AD’s absence, the 4x NBA champ has averaged 34.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.7 assists in 17 games.
Davis suffered the injury when playing against the Denver Nuggets on December 16, 2022. The 17-time NBA champions took the win on the night but Davis could not make significant contributions that day due to his injury. During that game, in 17 mins, he made 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. It would be safe for us to claim that he was on to have a good one that night.
What injury did Anthony Davis suffer?
The 29-year-old has been hit with a stress injury in his right foot. Speaking to the media a few days ago, Davis said that there was a bone spur fracture and a stress reaction in the navicular bone. Although he has been out for a while, there have been recent developments in his injury status as well. Dave McMenamin of ESPN disclosed that we might be seeing Davis return to the court sooner than expected.
“If everything continues to go the right way, [Anthony Davis] will be back playing for the Lakers next week.” (Via @mcten)
He’s coming 👀 pic.twitter.com/SR5Hgijb8x
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) January 20, 2023
He said, “Anthony Davis is, as we speak right now, potentially a week away from returning. He’s going to continue the ramp-up process, go through a couple full-fledged practices full court, and it’ll be all about how his body responds the next day. But, if he has everything continue to go the right way, he will be back playing for the Lakers next week at Crypto.com Arena and be with them for that entire road trip.”
Along with that, he mentioned that Davis is all in with the efforts to speed up the recovery process. It aligns with the clips that Dave has posted on Twitter, where Davis can be seen warming up with some simple three-point shooting drills.
Some post practice 3-point shooting for Anthony Davis pic.twitter.com/52koDhtDqq
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 19, 2023
This would certainly be the news that Lakers fans have been waiting for. Although the team did well for a while, with five wins in a row, it has gone downhill since then. They lost three consecutive games until a close 140-132 win against the Houston Rockets.
Just when the Lakers players had their eyes set on building momentum from that point onwards, they lost to the Sacramento Kings, once again in a close match-up. It sure looks like they are missing the 8x All-Star and his presence in the paint. If all goes right, he will be back in no time.