INDIANAPOLIS: For the first time in four years, Anthony Davis, the great big man for the Lakers, was back on the All-great Weekend stage for the Sunday exhibition between the best players in the Western and Eastern Conferences, where a player of his quality belongs.
On February 1, Davis was announced as a Western Conference All-Star reserve. This was not only his ninth career selection, but it was also his first since the 2020–21 season, following eight seasons of All-Star status (2013–21).
After missing the ’21 All-Star Game due to a strained right calf, Davis will be playing in the All-Star Game for the first time since 2020 on Sunday.
For the first time since 2017, the All-Star Game will be played in an East vs. West format. The previous arrangement allowed the captains to choose their teams regardless of conference membership.
During his media visit on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Davis remarked, “It’s a privilege to be here. It’s an honor.” Few men can claim to have been an All-Star, particularly considering that I have been one nine times. You never consider it to be given. I believe that I still could have succeeded despite my ailments from the previous year. Most likely not the year prior.
“It’s just a credit to my team, my trainers, and stuff like that to make sure that I’m healthy for the entire year and then just get back to the level that I’ve been playing at,” said the player who used to be regarded as one of the top players in the league.
Davis missed 60% or fewer games in the previous two seasons due to injuries, which had a major role in his failure to be selected as an All-Star in 2022 and 2023.
However, Davis’s durability hasn’t been a problem this season. Having participated in 52 of the Lakers’ 56 regular-season games, he averaged 24.9 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.5 blocks going into All-Star Weekend.
Davis is on track to play the most games he has for the Lakers in a single regular season and to set a new career record for games played. He has participated in 92.8% of the Lakers’ games thus far, which translates to roughly 76 games in an 82-game season. With the New Orleans Pelicans in 2016–17 and 2017–18, Davis participated in 75 regular season games.
avis described his approach to getting ready for the season as “just locking in, knowing that my team is better when I’m on the floor.” “There is nothing I can do to help them once I get off the floor.”
In his six prior All-Star Game appearances, Davis, the MVP of the 2017 NBA All-Star Game, averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. He missed two of those games (in 2015 and 2021). His 52 points in the 2017 All-Star Game at the Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans set a record, surpassing the 55 points scored by Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum in the All-Star Game the previous year.
Don’t anticipate Davis to play a big role on Sunday because he is thirty years old and wants to stay healthy for the last stretch of the regular season before the playoffs.
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