In 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers traded the 6-foot-10 forward Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. The 29-year-old player has been drafted the No. 1 overall pick by the Pelicans in 2012. However, the Lakers sent Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and three first-round picks in exchange for Davis. In his first game in a Lakers uniform, “The Brow”, as the NBA fans and players use to call him, went for 25 points and 10 rebounds despite the loss to the Los Angeles Clippers 112-102. The Los Angeles Lakers finished first in the Western Conference in the 2019-2020 season with 52 wins and 19 losses record. Davis averaged 26.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists during this regular season in 62 games out of 71. He also was selected to participate in his seventh All-Star game.
Furthermore, the 6-foot-10 forward won his first NBA championship and averaged 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 21 games in the 2020 playoffs. The Lakers won the NBA Finals in the Orlando “bubble” 4-2 over the Miami Heat with LeBron James as an NBA Finals MVP.
As a result of this season with the Lakers, Anthony Davis, a free agent at the time, agreed to a $190 million five-year maximum contract extension with the Purple and Gold. During the 2020-21 season, Davis earned $37,742,000. $35,361,360 for the 2021-2022 season. He will earn $37,980,720 this 2022-2023 season. $40,600,080 for the 2023-2024 season. Finally, he will earn $43,219,440 for the 2024-2025 season with a player option that means he can choose whether he stays with the Lakers or leave them and become an unrestricted free agent. Then, after the deal was signed, the Lakers’ general manager stated: “ In the Orlando bubble, Anthony Davis proved he is one of the game’s most complete and dominant two-way players. Now, Lakers fans get to watch AD continue to grow and lead our franchise for years to come. This is truly a blessed moment for Lakers Nation.”
Davis now needed to prove to the Lakers that he is worth this contract extension. During the 2020-2021 NBA season, Anthony Davis averaged 21.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 36 games out of 72. “The Brow” had to deal with calf and Achilles injuries during that season. However, he participated in his eighth All-Star game.
Later, the Lakers finished their season being 7th in the Western Conference thanks to a Play-In win against the Golden State Warriors. In this game, Davis went for 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists. Then, came the Playoffs. In the first round, the Lakers faced the Phoenix Suns, ranked second in the Western Conference at the time. The Purple and Gold were leading the series 2-1. During Game 4, won by the Suns 100-92, Anthony Davis suffered a groin injury and left the game before halftime. As a result, he didn’t play Game 5. The Suns won it 115-95 and so were leading the series 3-2. However, he decided to play Game 6 but could only be on the court for 5 minutes and 25 seconds. The Suns finally won Game 6 and so the series 4-2. In those Playoffs, Davis averaged 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.
Then, the 2021-2022 season was not what Davis and the Lakers expected. He only played 40 regular season games out of 82 because of his injuries. First, he didn’t play in the season opener. After that, he missed games due to knee soreness. He didn’t play for 17 consecutive games because he sprained his MCL. After finally playing some games, he injured one of his wrists, one of his feet, a thumb, and his back. That year the Lakers missed the Playoffs and even the Play-In. The Purple and Gold finished the season with 33 wins and 49 losses. The 6-foot-10 forward, despite his “short” season, averaged 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.
For this year’s season, 2022-2023, Davis set some goals during the media day: “For me, I wanted to be on the floor. I want to be able to play all 82 [games] and get back to the level of basketball that I know I’m capable of playing which is being elite and dominant. If I’m not, I don’t want it to be injury-based while I can’t play. So that’s my goal. I know the more I’m on the floor, the more I can help my team, and the higher chance we have of winning when I’m playing. So I want to go out there and be able to compete every single night.” He added: “Last season, I had two injuries that you can’t really control. I mean, a guy fell into my knee and landed on the foot. And the good thing for me is that the doctors after they looked at us, they could have been, like 10 times worse.” The Lakers didn’t start this season the best way possible and lost their first five games. Then, won two games and lost 5 consecutive games. Since then, the Purple and Gold seem to have really started their season since they have a 8 wins and 2 losses record out of their last 10 games.
Regarding Anthony Davis, as of Sunday, December 4, 2022, he averages 28.6 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. Over his last 10 games, he averaged 34.2 points, 15.4 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks. In a win over Milwaukee, on December 2, 2022, he went for 44 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. Then, in the next game, in a win over Milwaukee, on December 2, 2022, he went for 55 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 22 out of 30 field goals. With this masterpiece game, Davis joined Wilt Chamberlain to go for at least 50 points and 15 rebounds while shooting 70 percent from the field in a Lakers jersey. It seems like Anthony Davis came back in his best shape. It will be interesting to see how he will evolve in the remaining of the 2022-2023 NBA season. The next Lakers game is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6, 2022, against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
