Anthony Davis out indefinitely because of stress injury in right foot

Lakers forward Anthony Davis has a stress injury in his right foot and will be out indefinitely, the team announced Friday.

The Lakers said that Davis received extensive consultation with the team’s physicians and outside specialists to determine the injury.

It appeared as if Davis was injured in the first quarter of a win over the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 16 at Crypto.com Arena, when he clipped the outside of his foot against the inside of Denver center Nikola Jokic’s leg on a reverse layup. Davis continued to play throughout the first half, but he stayed in the locker room at halftime and hasn’t played since.

When the Lakers play Charlotte tonight at Crypto.com Arena, Davis will have missed his fourth consecutive game.

Davis had been playing at an elite level this season, having his name mentioned in MVP conversations for averaging 27.4 points per game (11th best in the NBA), 12.1 rebounds (third) and 2.1 blocked shots (third ).

Davis had missed six games this season, one because of Non-COVID illness.

Thomas Bryant has started at center in place of Davis and has fared well.

In his last three starts, Bryant has averaged 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 55.8% from the field and 66.6% from three-point range.

The team released the following statement regarding the injury:

“After extensive consultation with Lakers team physicians and outside specialists, it has been determined that Anthony Davis has a stress injury in his right foot. Davis will be out indefinitely. Further updates will be provided when appropriate.”