The Los Angeles Lakers have had a difficult start to the 2023-24 season, losing five of their first nine games. Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, and Anthony Davis have all been out with injuries during that period. Davis, who has only missed one game, has taken the brunt of the criticism for his absence.

Davis stated at the start of the season that his objective was to play in all 82 regular-season games. While unrealistic, it was expected that it would take longer than eight games for him to take his first night off, which he did on Wednesday against the Houston Rockets due to a hip/adductor spasm. The choice to sit, as is often the case when Davis misses time, was not warmly greeted by the supporters.

It was also met with disdain by rapper Lil Wayne, who took to Skip Bayless’ Undisputed to discuss Davis’ injury history and unreliability, as well as what the organization should do with the superstar big man.

These kinds of comments about Davis are nothing new. Fans have long argued that Davis should no longer be a Laker because, while his potential is apparent, he has just not been accessible enough to justify the Lakers assembling a team around him.

However, it’s a difficult argument to make considering Davis has only missed one game so far. In eight games, he has averaged 23.0 points, 11.9 rebounds, and an NBA-best 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 53.1/42.9/90.2 percent.

The Lakers have made it clear that they have no intention of parting ways with Davis anytime soon. They even offered him a three-year, $177 million contract extension during the offseason, keeping him in Los Angeles until the end of the 2026-27 NBA season. Davis will remain a Laker for the foreseeable future, putting up the type of stats that are expected of an eight-time All-Star.

In return, Davis’ hip felt good.

Davis returned from a one-game absence against the Phoenix Suns in their stunning comeback win on Friday. After the game, Davis discussed how his hip felt and whether he thought it will be a concern in the future.

“It took a while to get into the game, just with the shots and stuff, just trying not to aggravate it.” But as the game progressed, I simply stopped thinking about it and began playing. I felt it a handful of times during the game, but for the most part, it felt nice.”