In some ways, it’s hard to imagine the man in very clear discomfort with a back injury on Sunday who was waving off a substitution is the same person who has been the constant butt of jokes for not being available to his team. Anthony Davis won’t rewrite the narratives about his injury woes in this early stretch of games to open the season, but it doesn’t erase the impact he’s had on the Lakers despite battling injury.
Against the Nuggets, Davis had his best performance of the season with 23 points and 15 rebounds while dealing with an ailing back and matched up with the reigning MVP in Nikola Jokic.