Anthony Davis threw the NBA world into a tizzy Monday morning when, in a YouTube interview, he stated that he hadn’t “shot a basketball since maybe April 5,”
April 5th was the last game Davis played with the Los Angeles Lakers when they played the Pheonix Suns. Davis had dealt with an MCL Sprain in 2022 and played only 40 games.
His comment had television hosts rallying to understand why.
On Undisputed, Skip Bayless wasn’t very happy with the former NBA Champion.
“AD: you’re on the cusp of falling into mediocrity. I can see it in his body language: he doesn’t care enough to be all-time great.” Bayless said.
His partner, Shannon Sharpe wasn’t surprised though.
“Everything is not meant to be said out loud. AD, you barely picked a basketball up during the season, and now you need more time off? I give up.” the NFL Hall of Famer said.
Even First Take got in on the action.
“You mean to tell me you missed the playoffs, you missed the play-in, with Lebron James as your teammate and you’re not working on your shooting?!” Stephen A. Smith yelled. “Anthony Davis is big time when healthy, but there is no getting around how glaringly absent his perimeter shooting was.”
Anthony Davis shot just 18% from beyond the three point arc this season while the lack of true shooting plagued the Lakers to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Not everyone was so against Davis’s omission though.
“This is not a big deal. Ever professional athlete has an offseason routine” JJ Reddick said on First Take. “I didn’t take any shot in the offseason until after July 4th…this is completely normal.”
Davis also defended his comments after initial backlash started citing his overall workout regimen that has him only lifting weights during this time period.
Davis averaged 23 points per game this season with averaging just under 10 rebounds a game. While the Lakers season crumbled to a 33-49 finish, the offseason questions continue to swirl about the future of Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
Davis’ omission, while seemingly normal for professional athletes, adds more fuel to the fire on what continues to be a huge offseason for Los Angeles.
For more NBA coverage, visit AMNY.com
