Reports: Anthony Davis out at least 1 month with right foot injury

Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers has a right foot injury that’s expected to keep him sidelined for several weeks, according to multiple reports.

The severity of the injury was still being determined Sunday and that was keeping the team from forming a specific timetable for his return, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither Davis nor the Lakers had released any information publicly.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported that Davis was facing an extended absence, and multiple media outlets also confirmed the injury status.

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis is expected to miss at least one month after suffering a right foot injury, multiple sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 18, 2022

ESPN reporting with @mcten on Anthony Davis who's expected to miss multiple weeks with a right foot injury and still undergoing more evaluation on Sunday: https://t.co/KuyVvJC0Hy

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 18, 2022

 

Before the Lakers hosted Washington on Sunday night, Darvin Ham confirmed the team has no firm timetable for Davis’ return. The rookie head coach said Davis will see more specialists on Sunday night.

“The season is fairly early, and he just has to take care of his business, starting first and foremost with him getting back healthy,” Ham said.

Davis — who leads the Lakers with averages of 27.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, numbers that had him in the NBA’s Kia MVP conversation — was injured in the first half of the Lakers’ win over Denver on Friday night. He did not play after halftime.

It is yet another in a long line of injury woes for the eight-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection. He missed 36 of the Lakers’ 72 regular-season games in the 2020-21 season, then didn’t play in 42 of their 82 games last season.

Davis missed his fifth game of this season due to injury when the Lakers hosted the Wizards. He has been managing lower back pain for several weeks, but he has also been on a run of frequently spectacular play, scoring at least 25 points in his last 12 consecutive games that didn’t end early due to injury.

Ham said his advice to Davis was “(to) just focus on your health, and whatever the issue is, once it gets alleviated, just start the process to get back on the floor, and that’s as simple as that.

“Injuries are a big part of our league and a part of major sports in general,” Ham added. “Unfortunately, he’s had the injury history that he’s had, but there’s no time to cry over spilled milk.”

The Lakers don’t have a comparable replacement for Davis, but Thomas Bryant could help if he can match his performance in the second half against the Nuggets after Davis’ injury. Bryant finished with 21 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes.

He added 16 points and 10 rebounds to help the Lakers win for the third time in their last four games as Los Angeles defeated Washington on Sunday night.

“You have to follow the lead and sometimes wait for your (name) to be called,” said Bryant after making his third start with Davis sidelined. “It doesn’t change the fact that you have to be ready and stay ready and do what you can to make sure you’re in that mode in case something like this happens. I take pride in the preparation that I have.”

“Whoever is available to play, we have to make plays,” Lakers star LeBron James said Sunday. “We’re all NBA players and we have to go out and trust the game plan the coaches put out there. Tonight, we were able to do that for the majority of the game.”

The Lakers have been gradually building momentum since their 2-10 start to the season, winning 10 of their past 16 games. They also suffered two of those losses because Davis failed to make last-minute free throws that likely would have iced games the Lakers eventually lost in overtime.

Davis’ latest lengthy absence is a serious threat to their hopes of returning to playoff contention, but Ham is confident the Lakers can endure.

“The first priority is to take care of his health,” Davis said. “The hell with what people have to say. Just block out that noise. We have a phenomenal medical staff. Really, really brilliant people within the organization who’s going to make sure he has the best medical care, and then once we find out what’s going on, we’ll act accordingly.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.