Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis recently ripped those who have attacked his durability.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Davis bitterly noted that because he’s missed numerous games over the past two seasons due to injury, he’s in a no-win situation.
“This is what I’ve learned about injuries: Last year when I wasn’t playing, people were saying ‘AD’s giving up on his team,'” Davis said. “‘It’s the playoffs. AD has to play. He’s got to play.’ And when I went out there to play, got hurt again, they said, ‘Who was his trainer? Who let him play?’
“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.”
Despite such criticism, Davis has kept a positive focus because he believes that his injuries have been flukes.
“The real basketball guys know that there’s nothing I could’ve done in these situations,” Davis said. “What? Move out the way? I keep that attitude because, one, my wife makes me, and two, it’s knowing that these really weren’t my fault. How can I be down or upset or care what people are saying? It could’ve been anybody. I could wear shoes that come up to my knees.
“There’s not one player in the world who could step on somebody’s foot from the air and not roll your ankle. It doesn’t matter the shoe. You step on somebody’s foot, you’re going to roll your ankle.”
Being tagged as an injury-prone player has to be frustrating to Davis, who’s made every effort to stay healthy. The fact that his absence from the court has coincided with the Lakers’ struggles helps explain why critics have zeroed in on his health woes.
Davis has played in the Lakers’ last two games, with his efforts being overshadowed by the fact that the team lost both contests.
Against his old team, the New Orleans Pelicans, on Friday night, Davis tallied 23 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
That effort was followed by a contribution of 28 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three blocked shots on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets. In that contest, Davis and the Lakers were without the services of another injured veteran in LeBron James.
Despite his injury woes, Davis has strong feelings about the work he has put in.
“I did bust my a–,” Davis said. “And I had two uncontrollable injuries.”
The Lakers’ hopes of simply reaching the play-in portion of this year’s postseason are closing quickly. The team has four games left in the regular season.
The Lakers’ path to the postseason becomes even more difficult during their next two games. Those matchups will come against two Western Conference powerhouses in the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors.
