One of the reasons that the Los Angeles Lakers struggled so mightily during the 2021-22 NBA season was that Anthony Davis could not stay on the court. He missed 42 games because of lower body injuries to his ankle and knee which kept him from getting into any sort of rhythm.
Those ailments are bad enough to knock anyone off their game. Davis’s performance was impacted without his lower body being healthy, but that wasn’t the entire story. Davis revealed last week when the team reported for training camp that he was suffering from another undisclosed injury.
According to the former No. 1 overall pick, a wrist injury was also to blame for his struggles last season. He talked about it last week and shared that is what led to his struggles shooting the ball throughout the season.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but since January I was battling a wrist injury the whole year. 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.
“I couldn’t follow through. Anytime I followed through it was very painful,” said Davis on Wednesday.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Anthony Davis & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Davis had one of the worst jump-shooting seasons of his career. He made only 18.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and 71.3 percent of his free throw attempts, both career-lows. Despite that, he had one of the best overall shooting percentages of his career as he was a force around the basket, making up for his lack of efficiency on jumpers.
When he revealed that he hadn’t shot a basketball in months over the offseason, it drew the ire of many people. But, now we know the true reason as to why that was, as Davis was nursing an injury and wanted to get as healthy as possible. According to him, it is all systems go now.
“I’m 100 percent healthy. 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, midrange, post, perimeter, if I’ve got a shot, I’m going to shoot it.”
LATEST NBA NEWS: Anthony Davis & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
That is wonderful news for a Lakers team looking to get things back on track this season. Davis is motivated to perform well, and if he can remain healthy, things will quickly turn around for the purple and gold this season.
