“Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant suffered eerily similar injuries”: Ahead of LeBron’s return, Stephen A Smith speculates about his Lakers co-star’s health

Stephen A. Smith warns the NBA world about the potential nature of the calf injury that Lakers star Anthony Davis is returning from.

Anthony Davis is undoubtedly one of the best players in the NBA right now. When completely healthy, not only is he lethal as an individual player, but his chemistry with LeBron James also makes their duo amongst the most dominant in NBA history.

While all of this is absolutely true though, the words ‘when completely healthy’ need to be emphasized on. The player has a track record of suffering small and yet niggling injuries throughout his time in the NBA. However, it seems that could potentially take a turn for the worse this season.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith recently got on air on ‘The Jump’ with fellow analysts Rachel Nichols and Richard Jefferson. Here, he gave the NBA community an eye-opening warning about Anthony Davis that needs to be addressed by us and the Lakers alike.

Also Read: Skip Bayless ridicules Lakers star for posting warmup video ahead of his comeback from ankle injury

Stephen A. Smith puts forward a scary point about the calf injury suffered by Anthony Davis

Stephen A. Smith needs no introduction to the NBA community. The 53-year-old has made a career out of making hot takes, and shouting passionately yet hilariously, on national television.

Fans of the NBA watch Stephen A. Smith purely for entertainment. However, in the most recent episode of ‘The Jump’, the analyst may have just given Lakers fans a massive scare.

“AD and that calf is eerily similar to what happened to KD years ago in the playoffs before he showed up in the Finals and then it ripped,” Smith said on Anthony Davis’s injury. “I’m praying that doesn’t happen to AD. I don’t wish that on anybody, I love the guy. But I’m scared.”

Anthony Davis is not pleased with his minutes restriction 👀pic.twitter.com/TLzp1sMx5e

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 23, 2021

As scary as it is to admit, the ESPN analyst absolutely has a point. When Kevin Durant went down early in the Warriors’ 2019 playoff run, it was nothing more than a calf injury. But, continuous aggravation and the player’s early return eventually resulted in a devastating Achilles injury during the NBA finals, against the Raptors.

The good sign for Anthony Davis is that he has been given more than enough time to heal up. He was out for two months after he suffered his calf injury this season. However, the Lakers will still have to be careful. The franchise needs to make sure the injury isn’t aggravated, or it could prove detrimental to their title hopes this postseason.

Also Read: Celtics legend Paul Pierce reveals why he didn’t want to match up with AI

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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