NBA players face a level of scrutiny that no one outside of their peers can truly understand. The age of social media has given people access to professional athletes that players from past generations didn’t have to deal with.
Sometimes those interactions are very positive, as they can talk to some of their biggest fans around the world at the click of a button. But, some very negative interactions occur as well. For Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis, there has been a lot more negative attention than positive recently.
Davis returned to the court this past weekend after dealing with an injury to his foot. He has received the dreaded injury-prone label, as he has missed double-digit games in all but two of his 10 seasons in the NBA. This season will mark the fourth time that he has missed at least 20 games and the second consecutive that he could miss half the season.
It is something that Davis seems to be fed up with. During an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, Davis responded to the critics who have been relentless when it comes to trolling him about his injuries, especially the last two seasons.
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“So, what the [expletive] do you want me to do? When I play, it’s a problem. It’s a problem when I don’t play. At the end of the day, I’ve got to do what’s best for me and how my body feels. And we go from there. I’m not worried about who’s saying what or who thinks this about me because none of them have stepped on the floor and played. And the ones that did play, they should understand.”
“These aren’t little ticky-tack injuries.”
Anthony Davis has had his fair share of ticky-tack injuries in the past, but in the last two seasons, he has dealt with some serious ailments. This season alone he has dealt with Achilles and foot issues, which are difficult enough for anyone to deal with, let alone a professional athlete that is nearly 7-feet tall.
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A lot of the injuries this season are of the fluky variety, as a player was accidentally knocked into him when he injured his knee and a foot injury occurred when he stepped on an opponent during the game. They weren’t things that could be avoided with more time spent in the gym, they were mere accidents of wrong place and wrong time.
Davis is doing all that he can to try and will the Los Angeles Lakers into the NBA Play-In Tournament, as he is playing through a very sore foot injury. He will continue gutting it out as long as there is a chance the Lakers can extend their season, but once that is no longer a possibility, it would not be a surprise to see Davis shut down for the remainder of the season.
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Despite all of the negativity surrounding him and the Lakers, Davis reminded people what he is capable of with his performance against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon.
He scored a team-high 28 points to go with nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and three blocks as Anthony Davis did all he could to try and help get his team a victory. Ultimately, the Los Angeles Lakers fell short, losing 129-118 as they moved one game closer to being officially eliminated from postseason contention.
