Anthony Davis had to exit game 5 of the clash between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers with seven minutes on the clock. Davis was on the receiving end of a forearm from Kevin Looney and ended up being forced out. After being examined on the bench, he was taken back to the locker room in a wheelchair. Shaquille O’Neal mocked him for it, with utter petulance. And now, Stephen A Smith has done quite literally the same.
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Journalists and media questioning the veracity of Anthony Davis’ injury is concerning. It is quite embarrassing, truly. For sportscasters to be talking like this.
To flagellate and mock a sportsperson for an injury, despite it not looking serious, is quite ridiculous.
Stephen A. Smith mocks Anthony Davis after his latest injury
Anthony Davis has earned himself quite a reputation due to his constant injury troubles. He has played 36 and 40 regular season games in the past two seasons for the LA Lakers.
This season, he played just 56 games and once again, he is facing injury in the Playoffs. Despite that Davis has been the star player for the LA Lakers and injuries are a part of the game.
Speaking on First Take, Stephen Smith does not seem to agree and even questioned whether Davis needed a wheelchair. Sarcastically, we might add.
The video was also shared by a user on Reddit, on the r/NBA subreddit. The user thought that Smith’s take was embarrassing:
“I will be damned if I am laughing, I am like, concussion? I thought the NFL season as over. Now I understand that concussions can happen in other sports. Boxing, UFC, and I get it if the collision is fierce enough, it can happen in basketball too. But damn, we aint seen one that made me say conscussion, I don’t know if its true or not or if something happened in the locker room, I am not sure, but a wheelchair? I hope Anthony Davis is okay. Did I miss something? Did I miss it?”
Yes, probably he did. In fact, so did we. The intensity of the impact and perhaps the whiplash might have been too severe too bare for Davis. It is something we did not notice. At all.
But for Stephen A Smith to come on air and say that using a tone that feels more like mockery than a question, is rather appalling.
Anthony Davis’s availability is crucial to the LA Lakers’ title hopes
The fact that Davis got a head injury might have given further impetus to the trainers to take him off. The player is crucial to the way the Lakers play. He has double-doubles in both games 3 and 4.
In game 5, his late injury meant that he finished with a stat line of 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. With game 6 set to be played at the Crypto.com arena, the Lakers will be determined to finish off the series.
On the other hand, the Warriors know that they have been handed a lifeline and will not want to let go of the opportunity. Game 6 might prove to be the most entertaining match of a highly-entertaining series thus far.
