Getty Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
Despite boasting three of the world’s best players, the Los Angeles Lakers failed to make the playoffs this season.
A large part of the team’s unsuccessful season was due to their inability to stay healthy, with both Anthony Davis and LeBron James both missing considerable time due to a string of injuries.
While this was the first time in LeBron’s career that injuries continually derailed his momentum, for Davis, it was par for the course. In fact, the superstar big man has now failed to participate in 40 or more regular-season games for two straight seasons and has never hit 65 single-season games since joining the Lakers. For a player earning an average salary of $37 million, a total of 76 games in two seasons is incredibly worrisome, especially if that trend continues heading into the 2022-23 NBA season.
According to Keith Smith of Spotrac, there is a chance that the current version of Davis is now who he is as a player, and that his prime is firmly in the rearview window.
“There’s also been some buzz that the Lakers should consider moving Anthony Davis. While unlikely, the idea isn’t entirely meritless. Davis has appeared in just 76 games over the past two seasons, as he’s dealt with a variety of injuries. His play was better last season than in the season before, but Davis may be on the downswing of his career. He’ll be 30 towards the end of next season and his days of appearing in more than 60-65 games are probably over,” Smith wrote in a recent article.
Lakers Need Davis to be Dominant
It’s bad enough to think that the Lakers will eventually need to replace LeBron, especially after another incredible season from the ageless veteran. But, if Davis is truly on a downward spiral, the Lakers’ future looks worse than first thought.
The idea behind pairing LeBron and Davis together was always that as LeBron rode off into the sunset of retirement, the transcendent big man would be there to bridge the gap, as the franchise underwent yet another rebuild. However, if Davis can’t stay on the floor for 60 or more games each season, his contract will quickly become one of the worst in the league, and the front office will find themselves dealing with another situation similar to that of Russell Westbrook, and there’s no guarantee a team like the New York Knicks will always have the cap space to enter into trade negotiations.
@jordan_mellor3 @YoThatsBreal @BleacherReport @TheSteinLine Anthony Davis just finished back-to-back seasons of missing at least 20 games related to injuries. 👎 Guaranteed to be injured next season too, this is how the Lakers have to think during roster construction. Westbrook trade is mandatory.
Luckily, Davis still has another two years remaining on his deal, so if the team does decide to cut bait, there will be other teams that could be swayed by Davis’ previous dominance and would strike an agreement under the hope they can help him find a new wave of health.
Davis’ Production Still Shows Promise
Sure, Davis hasn’t been able to stay on the floor, but when he has suited up, his production has continued to be at an All-Star level. In the 40 games that he played this season, the six-foot-ten superstar averaged 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while shooting 53.2% from the field.
Of course, 40 games weren’t enough to help the Lakers make the post-season, nor was it enough to build legitimate chemistry with Russell Westbrook, who was clearly struggling to acclimate himself to the team’s style of play.
Anthony Davis comeback season needs to happen
Yet, it’s fair to assume that if Davis can put his injury issues behind him, he still boasts enough talent to be a dominant force in the league, and his presence on the Lakers roster should go some way to helping them reach the post-season, and potentially challenge for a championship.