Getty Lakers star Anthony Davis
During his media session with reporters on September 28th, Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis revealed that he dealt with an undisclosed wrist injury last season. The injury affected his accuracy on his jump shots.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but since January, I was battling a wrist injury the whole year,” Davis said. “So it was affecting my shot and everything. That’s not an excuse, but it was tough for me to shoot how I wanted to shoot. I couldn’t really follow through.”
Davis struggled with his jumper in 2021-22. The one-time champion shot 34.8% on jump shots, 31.7% on shots from 10-to-15 feet and 18.6% from beyond the arc: “I couldn’t follow through,” Davis said. “Anytime I followed through, it was very painful and I had to try to do that over and over.”
Davis trained with “Lethal Shooter,” one of the top shooting coaches in the world this summer. The Chicago native, who only appeared in 40 games last season due to two serious injuries, is 100% healthy heading into the 2022-23 campaign.
Davis: ‘I Feel Great’
Davis, who has played in just 76 regular-season games since helping the Lakers win the 2020 title, is feeling confident with his jumper again now that his wrist isn’t hurting.
“I’m 100% healthy,” Davis said. “I feel great. You can ask guys around here. I’m really shooting the ball. So, I’ll be ready. Wherever coach puts me on the floor, mid-range, post, perimeter, if I’ve got a shot, I’m going to shoot it.”
In 138 regular-season games with the Lakers, Davis is averaging 24.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 blocks. Although four-time MVP LeBron James is still considered the “best player” on the purple and gold, all signs point toward Davis being the focal point of the offense this season since he’s younger than LeBron, who turns 38 in December and has played in 10 Finals.
Darvin Ham Will Run His Offense Through Davis
According to an August 9th report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham told James during a private meeting over the summer that he planned on running the Lakers’ offense through Davis in 2022-23. James, one of the best players in NBA history, had no problem with Ham’s decision.
Davis will make $37.9 million this season. The All-Star averaged 23.2 points and 9.9 rebounds in 2021-22 while shooting 53.2% from the field. The Lakers, who missed the playoffs, need Davis to stay healthy this season if they want to compete for a championship. They also need the future Hall of Famer to hit perimeter shots again.
“I think in terms of shooting, that’s a needed skill,” Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said during media day. “Some of that can come from the outside, by additional roster moves or roster moves throughout the season, but shooting growth can also come from within and we do feel like there are players on our team this year that you’re going see that growth.”
Last season, Davis missed 17 games from late December until late January after suffering an MCL sprain in his left knee against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Then in mid-February, the 29-year-old sustained a right mid-foot sprain versus the Utah Jazz, causing him to miss 18 more games.