Lakers James and Davis Ranked Among Highest in Unlikely Stat

Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are now in their 6th season together as a duo. During this time, they have proven to be one of the most lethal pairs in the NBA and even won an NBA championship in 2020.

With their success, they have also experienced failures, including a first-round exit and even one season missing the playoffs entirely. The main reason for this was not their talent but more so the combined injury issues with both superstars, which is why them recording among the highest in the league for one particular stat is so unusual.

Injury Concerns


LeBron James is now in his 21st season in the NBA. At 38 years old, this means that he has now officially played over half of his entire life in the league, and with that comes a level of wear and tear that the body must endure.

This has been proven by the games that James has missed due to injury since joining the Lakers. In fact, he has only managed to surpass 60 games just once in his 5 years playing for Los Angeles, a number he never failed to go below in his 15 seasons prior.

Davis, on the other hand, has always been injury-prone ever since entering the league. It is not uncommon for players of his size and weight to face injury problem due to the bodily pressure absorbed from playing over 30 minutes per night for 82 games a year. With this being said, the Lakers were allegedly implementing minute restrictions for both Davis and James this season in hopes of keeping them healthy for postseason play.


Minutes Restriction

The Lakers made several notable personnel changes this offseason, with hopes that by constructing a deep roster filled with competent role players, the Lakers could afford to reduce the minutes of their top stars.

Due to several early injuries to players such as Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, and Jared Vanderbilt, the Lakers have struggled early on this season. With their recent struggles, the Lakers have dropped the planned minutes restrictions and played both James and Davis for extended periods in hopes of remaining competitive, especially now as the first-ever NBA in-season tournament has tipped off.

Not only have the minutes of James and Davis now increased to lead the Lakers, but they are both among the top 16 highest in minutes per game in the entire league. Davis is averaging 38.8 minutes per game, trailing only Shaedon Sharpe, and LeBron ranks 16th, playing 35.6 minutes per game.

With the health concerns of both players, it is only a matter of time before one or both of them get seriously injured. Therefore, the Lakers will need to find valuable rotation minutes from elsewhere as soon as possible.

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