On Sunday, Anthony Davis was uncertain as to whether or not he would play for the Los Angeles Lakers. Initially, his performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves was deemed dubious on account of illness and left shoulder discomfort. Nonetheless, Davis and the Lakers were ultimately spared a mercy from the ιnjury gods. Not only was he able to participate, but the Minnesota Timberwolves were also without Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, two of their star large me𝚗. That put Davis in position for a monumental contest, and oh, did he deliver.
A staggering 27 points, 25 rebounds, seven thefts, five assists, and three blocks comprised the final tally. Everyone, hold on to your headwear, because much history was made in this one:
Davis accomplished the feat of being the first player in NBA history to record a single game with 25 points, 25 rebounds, five thefts, and five assists.
Davis became the first Laker since Shaquille O’Neal in 2004 to amass 25 points and 25 rebounds. This season, he became the first NBA player to accomplish this feat. Preceding Davis, the last players to achieve the accomplishment were Ivica Zubac and Nikola Jokic, both in 2022.
A game in which Davis tied his career high with ten оffensive rebounds. He last accomplished this against the Brooklyn Nets in 2022-23.Davis regrettably fell short of reaching one of the most esteemed statistical milestones in the sport. He achieved a total of three blocks. He would have recorded the 23rd five-by-five game in NBA history had he reached five.
Obviously, Davis is not overly bothered by the prоspect of missing out. Indeed, in 2018, he recorded his twentieth five-by-five. Although Davis fell short, it would have been regrettable to join Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving, and Andrei Kirilenko as the only players in league history to accomplish this feat twice.
He can nevertheless find comfort in the Lakers’ victory, which was comparatively significant. They are now six games ahead at 36-30.500 for the first time since Russell Westbrook was acquired through a trade. In the Western Conference standings, they are two games behind the No. 8 seeded Dallas Mavericks in the defeat column, but they lead the No. 10 Golden State Warriors by three victories.
After an inconsistent start to the season, they are trending in the correct direction with a 16-5 record over their last 16 contests. Should Davis maintain these sorts of statistics, the Lakers could potentially bypass the play-in round entirely. A pleasant day at the office overall for an individual who came close to missing the game.