Dating to the exhibition season, Anthony Davis has been dealing with a lower back ailment that has caused him pain and discomfort.
He has aggravated it a couple of times, forcing him to miss the Los Angeles Lakers’ contest versus the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
But he has played through the pain, even after aggravating the injury during other games. He has refused to sit the remainder of those contests, and he deserves credit from Lakers fans for being a trooper.
After the team defeated the Denver Nuggets on Sunday to get its first win of the season, the superstar big man talked about how much discomfort he has been in and said that the ailment is something he could likely play through.
“A pretty good amount,” Davis said when asked about how much pain he was in. “On the putback, it kind of just comes and goes, these little shocks that go. But at that point, you’re playing off adrenaline, and so I know tonight, maybe into tomorrow, I’m probably gonna feel it more. But this is all manageable. Just trying to do what I can to make sure I’m on the floor to help the team.”
Davis is playing well to start the season, averaging 23.8 points on 53.3% shooting, 10.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2 blocked shots per game. He had 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting and 15 rebounds on Sunday.
Los Angeles will not play its next game until Wednesday when it hosts the New Orleans Pelicans, which will give his back some time to recover.
