Anthony Davis to miss week after suffering abdominal strain
Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis will be out for at least a week after being diagnosed with an abdominal muscle strain, the team announced Wednesday.
Davis exited during the first quarter of Tuesday’s 118-104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers due to the injury and did not return.
The Lakers said Davis underwent an MRI on Wednesday, will return to Los Angeles and is set to be reevaluated in approximately one week. That will rule him out for the remaining three games of the Lakers’ road trip against the Washington Wizards, New York Knicks and LA Clippers.
“When our best player goes out, it’s always challenging,” LeBron James said after Tuesday’s game. “If he’s out from the beginning, then we have a game plan set. We know what to expect, we know what our lineup is going to be. But when AD or any one of our guys go down throughout the course of a game, it’s just tough.”
Dorian Finney-Smith started the second half in Davis’ spot against the 76ers and finished with three points and three rebounds in 19 minutes.
Davis had been on a tear entering Tuesday, averaging 32.8 points on 58.2% shooting, 15 rebounds and 2.5 blocks during the Lakers’ four-game winning streak. He finished with four points on 2-of-3 shooting, two rebounds and one steal against Philadelphia.
The Sacramento Kings are expected to open talks for a potential De’Aaron Fox trade ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
Fox, 27, has one year left on his contract before he hits free agency in summer 2026 and sources said he has not shown a willingness yet to commit long term in Sacramento.
There will be plenty of suitors for Fox, who made an All-NBA team in 2022-23, but it’s believed that the San Antonio Spurs are atop his list of preferred landing spots, league sources told ESPN. Fox and his representation, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, have a target destination in mind ahead of his free agency, those sources said.
The Kings fired head coach Mike Brown last month after the team appeared to be falling short of expectations. Since then, the Kings have won 11 of their past 15 games under interim coach Doug Christie.
Sacramento enters Tuesday night 1½ games up on the Golden State Warriors for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Fox has played his entire career in Sacramento and ranks fourth in career points in Kings history — trailing only Oscar Robertson, Jack Twyman and Mitch Richmond.
