After missing 17 games with a sprained MCL, superstar Anthony Davis was welcomed back into the Los Angeles Lakers starting lineup on Tuesday night in a big win over the Brooklyn Nets 106-96.
After it was announced that Davis wouldn’t have a concrete minutes restriction, he ended up playing 25 minutes, finishing with 8 points, two rebounds, two assists, and four blocks.
After the game, AD shared how he felt on the floor after missing over a month (spanning 17 games) with his injured left knee via ESPN.
“For the most part, I felt fine, felt great out there, and the first couple minutes the adrenaline took, and after that, the wind caught up to me,” Davis said. “When I caught my second wind, I was fine for the rest of the game.”
“I don’t know about the whole minute restriction thing; I think for me that might come off,” Davis said. “Might tell coach Vogel I don’t need that, but we’ll see.”
First play of the game. Great to have you back, @AntDavis23 🙌 pic.twitter.com/dljoittWhw
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 26, 2022
Davis’ superstar teammate LeBron James discussed the importance of his return as a boost for an underachieving team sitting seventh in the Western Conference at 24-24.
“He just makes our team so much more complete, our length defensively, our ability to really get up in people’s faces because we know we got him at the rim, or our ability to switch a lot of things because he can literally guard 1-through-5,” James said. “Offensively, it just attracts another set of eyes off of myself, off of Russell Westbrook, off of Carmelo Anthony, off of Malik Monk. Off everybody, because he’s such a dynamic player.”
The Los Angeles Lakers are 7-10 without The Brow. They face the Philadelphia 76ers (28-10) Thursday night.
