Gil says that Anthony Davis will benefit from playing in the Olympics.
Committing to play for the National Team means extra work hours for NBA players. While the rest of the league’s players begin their vacations after the NBA Finals, those who were selected to play for Team USA had to prepare for and compete in the Summer Games after the NBA season.
While most players frown on shorter rest periods, former Washington Wizards All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas believes it is beneficial for Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis, who has a long history of minor injuries.
“I think sometimes too much rest hurts you,” explained Arenas. “Going to the summer, taking 2 or 3 months off and then try to get it back going, little things happen. I think the fact that he’s playing longer, like right now, he probably will take a week off, a week-and-a-half off the knee, then have to rev back up. So his body’s priming, and it’s healthy.”
AD gets hurt at the slightest touch
Davis is probably one of the most brittle superstars in the history of the NBA because he easily gets hurt. He’s missed a significant number of games in his 12-year NBA career due to minor injuries and has never played a full 82-game season.
However, AD is coming off a 2023-24 season where he played a career-high 76 regular season games. He topped that up with a stint for the ‘Avengers team in Paris. Davis played all six games for Team USA, averaging 16.6 minutes per game while establishing himself as the team’s best defensive player.
“I think that helps more than taking a whole summer off then really trying to rev it up in September like we usually do,” added Gil. “September, then you come in and training camp and you pushing your body, getting a little calf strain here, a little thigh injury here, and you just linger the rest of the season. I think that helps because you won’t have those little knick knacks he usually has that keep him out.”
Rivers recently talked about Davis’ health
Right after Team USA captured Olympic gold against France, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers raved about Davis’ performance. Rivers said he didn’t know what had happened, but AD had been much healthier and more dominant in the past year.
“Something’s happened, Bill,” said Rivers. “And I’m not sure what it is, but over the last year and a half, he plays more games, he’s playing big games, he’s healthy…Today (Olympic gold medal game), he didn’t get the ball once. He just got the ball when someone missed. He had four of the six blocked shots. He’s been fantastic. That’s what he does. He’s become the dominant Anthony Davis again.”
Hopefully, AD’s good health continues next season as the LA squad hopes to make the most of LeBron James’ final years. The Purple and Gold could not land any of the summer’s top free agents, but it would be foolish to count out the Lakers after how good Bron and Davis looked in Paris.