Anthony Davis had seen a barrage of criticism come his way in recent seasons for his inability to stay healthy. Davis was given nicknames like “Street Clothes,” for how often he would be seen wearing them during games. To say things have changed in that regard over the last year or so would be an understatement, as Davis has now played in 98 of the last 102 games for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Davis played the last 12 games of the regular season in 2023-24 and then featured in the Lakers’ NBA Play-In Tournament game against the Minnesota Timberwolves as well. The nine-time All-Star followed that up by playing all 16 playoff games for LA in 2023.
Then in this 2023-24 season, Davis has played in 68 out of 72 regular season games. To go with that, he also suited up for the In-Season Tournament Final against the Indiana Pacers, which does not count as a regular-season game.
The only games he has missed this season came against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 8, the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 15, the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 30, and the Boston Celtics on Feb. 1.
Put all that together, and you get 98 out of 102, which is quite impressive when you consider how bad things were at one point for Davis. He has been somewhat of an iron man for the Lakers and imagine saying that at the start of 2023.
Davis has also spent a fair bit of time on the court in those games, having averaged over 35.0 minutes per game in that time. The 31-year-old set a personal record for minutes in a game in Tuesday’s contest against the Milwaukee Bucks, as he played 52 minutes to lead the Lakers to a 128-124 win in double overtime.
In the process, Davis also became the first Lakers player to play 52 minutes in a game since Kobe Bryant did it in 2012. The criticism he received for missing so much time earlier was fair, but the fact that he is now almost always available for the Lakers needs to be highlighted as well.
Anthony Davis Speaks About Playing 52 Minutes Against The Bucks
What makes Davis playing all those minutes against the Bucks even more impressive is that he was playing through pain. He had the area around his knee worked on during stoppages toward the end of the game and Davis spoke about it postgame.
“Just keeping my knee warm,” Davis said. “My trainer was (using a) heat pad to do some release work. I don’t think I got knee-to-knee. I’m not sure what happened. It is what it is.”
Anthony Davis (34 pts, 23 reb) discusses the challenges of playing double overtime and achieving a milestone of playing 52 minutes, becoming the first Lakers player to do so since Kobe Bryant in 2012. pic.twitter.com/aUqJd14uql
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 27, 2024
Davis would end the night with 34 points, 23 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. He is now averaging 28.8 points and 18.3 rebounds over his last four games, which is very impressive. You do wonder, though, having played all those minutes while battling an injury, if he will be able to play on Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Davis has shown this season that he is more than willing to play through pain, but the Lakers might decide it isn’t worth the risk. The playoffs are just around the corner now and the last thing they would want is for him to suffer some kind of injury that might rule him out for a couple of weeks.
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