Lakers Injury Report: Darvin Ham Clarifies Nature Of Anthony Davis' Absence

Alex Kirschenbaum | Apr 10, 2024

Oct 26, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) speaks with head coach Darvin Ham. / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers All-Star center Anthony Davis is not in concussion protocol, and he is apparently not suffering long-term ill effects from the left eye injury that he incurred against Kyle Anderson of the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 127-117 defeat on Sunday.

Ahead of LA's eventual 134-120 defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, a second straight loss to a West postseason club, head coach Darvin Ham explained to reporters the exact nature of Davis' absence. Well, to a point at least. Here's his conversation with media pregame, as captured by Spectrum SportsNet:

Darvin Ham on playing without Anthony Davis and the importance of today's matchup with Golden State. pic.twitter.com/2xGqhVDpBf

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 10, 2024

“He showed up to the arena trying to do everything he could to play but just couldn’t quite overcome the headache and nausea,” Ham said. “Yeah, he’s currently not in concussion protocol."

After the game, Ham seemed to infer that the lingering illness doesn't have anything to do with Davis' left eye injury, suffered in LA's Sunday loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Darvin Ham on the Warriors: "They had guys step up and hit shots... the guys you wanted shooting the ball made their shots." pic.twitter.com/zpW6dkno1x

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 10, 2024

“You’ll have to ask our doctors for sure,” Ham said. “That’s what it feels like to me, but I’m not a medical professional.”

LA has fallen to a 2-4 record without Davis following the Warriors loss. He's been the team's unquestionable defensive anchor and second-most important offensive player for several years now. The 45-35 Lakers could still finish anywhere from the 6th to the 10th seed in the conference as of this writing. They'll be much likelier to finish closer to the 10th seed without The Brow for these final two games.