There is a lot of mystery and interest surrounding Anthony Davis and his health lately.
The Pelicans superstar was officially shut down for the season Sunday, because of a lingering shoulder issue we were told was a possible hyper-extended knee in the Pelicans loss to the Blazers Friday night.
He also could be in line for his second straight All-NBA appearance which would enact a $24 million increase in his max contract which goes into effect in the 2016-17 season, which makes the timing of his being shut down somewhat interesting and is explained more from my article on Saturday.
It was reported today all of the sudden that Davis didn’t just have a minor, recent shoulder injury but has in fact been playing with a torn labrum for three years.
Although it is clear that Davis’s labrum tear must be of the more minor nature and a series of small tears as opposed to one big tear, but the fact that this has been an issue he has been dealing with for three seasons and the Pelicans doctors and Davis have opted against surgery for extended rest until now is mind-boggling and Blazers-esque in how poorly it has been treated.
Davis has missed only 7 games thus far in his career with the cause of injury being shoulder related but he has missed 68 games in total now in the first four seasons in his NBA career, which means on average he misses 20% or one of every five games each season, an extremely high rate.
Davis will now finally undergo shoulder surgery and knee surgery as well that will cause him to miss the Rio Olympics this summer, a very smart and cautious move by Davis and the organization.
There is no doubting that Anthony Davis is a freak of nature and may be the number one guy a franchise would pick to build around or at least in the top 3, but his propensity of injury issues are a bit of a cause for concern for the Pelicans moving forward.
We won’t see ‘The Brow’ again until October and that may be a good thing for him and the Pelicans.
