Team USA men’s basketball is off to a 2-0 start during the group stage of the Olympics, but one of the key concerns following their 103-86 win against South Sudan was the injury to Anthony Davis. The Lakers star appeared to hurt his ankle when former Lakers teammate Wenyen Gabriel landed on him.
But Anthony Davis quelled any injury concerns stating that he was fine as per Ben Golliver of The Washington Post. Davis joked that it was just a run-in with his old Lakers teammate Gabriel and nothing more.
“Wenyen being Wenyen,” Davis said. “He’s my guy. I was falling and he came down too and just kind of stepped on my foot.”
Anthony Davis in the starting lineup was one of the major changes head coach Steve Kerr made prior to Team USA’s second Olympics game against South Sudan. Davis started at center in place of Joel Embiid who did not play in the win. Kerr also put Jayson Tatum in the starting lineup in place of Jrue Holiday. Tatum did not play in Team USA’s first game against Serbia.
Davis finished with eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot in 19 minutes. He shot 4-of-7 from the field. Against Serbia in Team USA’s opening win, he finished with seven points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal while shooting 3-of-6 from the field and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line.
Anthony Davis, LeBron James showing Lakers chemistry at Olympics
In what must be very reassuring to Lakers fans, Anthony Davis and LeBron James have showed incredibly chemistry during Team USA’s Olympics run so far. The prevailing thought amongst fans on social media is that James and Davis are still a championship caliber duo, they just need the right players around them on the roster.
Related NewsArticle continues below
Last season, the Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs in five games. James and Davis played well though as a duo, they just didn’t quite get the necessary help from the rest of the supporting cast.
Davis appeared in 76 games for the Lakers, the most number of games he’s ever played in during a single season of his NBA career. His previous career-high was 75 games during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons when he was still playing for the New Orleans Pelicans.
He averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.3 blocked shots with splits of 55.6 percent shooting from the field, 27.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
