Anthony Davis Injury Update: Lakers’ Star Will Miss Significant Time Before Return

The Los Angeles Lakers will be without one of their superstars for the foreseeable future as Anthony Davis’ injury will likely keep him off the court until at least the All-Star break.

Davis left Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets prematurely with what has been diagnosed as a calf strain, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports, He will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks.

An MRI reportedly revealed that Davis reaggravated his Achilles tendonosis, which had forced him to miss two games last week. Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morris have both started at power forward in place of Davis.

Los Angeles has nine games on its schedule before the All-Star Game on March 7. Davis is expected to miss all of those contests, at a minimum, as the Lakers take a cautious approach with their star player.

Davis has missed five games total in the 2020-2021 NBA season. Los Angeles is scheduled to play 37 games before the All-Star break as part of this year’s truncated 72-game season.

Even prior to MRI today, conversation among GM Rob Pelinka, Anthony Davis and agent Rich Paul of @KlutchSports has been to take their time on AD's return to lineup, sources tell ESPN. They'll take another look in two-to-three weeks, yes, but "conservative" is the operative word.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 15, 2021

Asked a team source how the Lakers are processing the Anthony Davis news: “Long haul. Long season. Take as long as he needs.”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 15, 2021

The playoffs are tentatively scheduled to start in mid-May. Well on their way to the postseason, the Lakers want to make sure Davis is completely healthy as the team tries to defend its championship.

L.A. could be wary of making sure that Davis doesn’t suffer the same fate as Kevin Durant, who suffered a calf strain during the 2019 playoffs. He ruptured his Achilles one month later when he returned during the NBA Finals as the Golden State Warriors sought a third straight title.

The Lakers’ 21-7 record is good for second-best in the league, putting them two games behind the current top-seeded Utah Jazz. LeBron James is the MVP favorite just a few months removed from winning his fourth NBA Finals championship and MVP award.

Davis is averaging 22.5 points, 8,4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. He averaged 27.7 points and was a defensive force in 21 playoff games last season while winning his first championship.