“Don’t Believe in Anthony Davis”: Rooting for LeBron James’ Lakers, Stephen A Smith Uses ‘Bag of Skittles’ to Explain Distrust in 6ft 10″ Star

The 2023-24 season of the NBA is just around the corner. As such, debates have started raging surrounding which teams are likely to make a championship run. Appearing on Shannon Sharpe’s show, Club Shay Shay, Stephen A. Smith weighed in on this debate. With specific regard to the Western Conference, Stephen A. and Shannon gave their picks for who would come out on top. It is here, that Smith revealed he will always support the Lakers, but there are certain factors that raise doubts within him. One of these factors is Anthony Davis, who he believes is a huge question mark thanks to his injury problems. Problems that he interestingly related to a bag of Skittles.

Recently, AD signed the most lucrative contract in NBA history. The Brow signed a three-year extension with the Los Angeles Lakers worth $186,000,000. An extension that will let him rake in close to $62,000,000 a year. It’s a massive deal, but it’s one that Stephen A. has his concerns about. While he does believe his talent is worth the money, it’s his consistency that really bothers the ESPN analyst. And, it is this worry that is the basis for his criticism of the 30-year-old.

Stephen A. Smith shares his concerns for the Lakers and AD

Heading into the 2023-24 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have one of the strongest teams in the league, let alone the Western Conference. With the likes of LeBron James and Austin Reaves on the roster, the Purple and Gold have the depth to challenge for an NBA Championship. This has Shannon Sharpe, a lifelong King James fan, very excited for the coming season.

Similarly, Stephen A. Smith also has his money in LA. However, he does have his concerns, primary among them being Anthony Davis, whom he revealed he has no faith in. The reason is his numerous health concerns.

Out of a possible 328 regular season games, Davis has only featured in 194 during his time in LA. It is the sporadic nature that has led to Smith questioning the forward’s ability to stay on the court. As such, his critique was rather harsh, but fair as he compared AD’s inconsistency to someone who eats a healthy meal on one day, but then opens a bag of Skittles on the next.

“I don’t believe in Anthony Davis, in terms of his availability. Not talking about his skill set. I’m not talking about whether he cares or not. I’m talking about injury-prone, sporadic…there’s something going on with him where instead of talking about me getting in the gym, you need to be talking about him getting in the gym because it’s up and down. It’s like this brother sat and ate a healthy meal one day and then ate a bag of Skittles the next. It’s this plummet, you know what I’m saying. I don’t understand it and I can’t have faith in that.”

This isn’t the first time Stephen A. has shared his concerns regarding Davis’ health, and it certainly won’t be the last. And, given the fact that he has signed a new lucrative extension with the Purple and Gold, these concerns are only sure to grow. However, fans around the world, including SAS, will have to hold onto hope that AD manages to go through the season without any major injuries.

Stephen A. has been ranting about AD’s health concerns for quite some time now

As mentioned earlier, this isn’t the first time Stephen A. Smith has called out Anthony Davis for his injury proneness. In fact, he’s been calling him out for a few seasons now. And, the 2021-22 season was no different. Following the Lakers’ inability to make the Playoffs, Smith ripped into Davis and his injury history.

Commenting yet again about how he lacks faith in AD, Smith delivered a brutal breakdown of the latter’s health concerns. All this, just hours after LeBron James attempted to lift the spirits of the Lakers nation by sharing a video of Davis’ dominance.

At this point, it’s a known fact that Stephen A. would love to be in Los Angeles for the NBA Finals. However, as he mentioned, that can only become a reality if everyone is on the same page. And, with AD seeming to be more of a liability than an asset with his injuries, it’s easy to see why he is so critical of him.