Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis makes history against Minnesota Timberwolves. What record did he set?
The Lakers big man is undoubtedly one of the best in the NBA, but his performance this past weekend didn’t just confirm that it did so in historic fashion.
If you didn’t know it, the Lakers’ Anthony Davis is a very good player. From his consistently above-average scoring to his defensive contributions, there is really only one downside and that’s been his ability in recent seasons to stay healthy. That said, when Davis has been good to go, few in the league have been able to compare. On Sunday, he reinforced that fact once again.
Anthony Davis makes NBA history
Let’s set the stage. By all accounts, Anthony Davis shouldn’t even have been on the court when the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday Night. As mentioned above, Davis has had his fair share of issues when it comes to injury. In this case it was shoulder soreness. Add to that a bout of illness, and it looked almost certain that the 31-year-old would not feature. Yet, that’s exactly what Davis did and we’ve got to say, he did it well.
Indeed, not only was Davis able to take to the floor, but he was instrumental in helping the Lakers take advantage of the absence of the T’Wolves pair of big men: Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony Towns. The latter is out indefinitely with an injury, while the former has just been suspended and fined $100K for suggesting NBA referees are on the take. Regardless, Davis went to work, and by the end of it, he had made history. To be clear, Davis posted 27 points, 25 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and three blocks. How historic was that? Let’s break it down. With his performance, Davis achieved the following:
- Became the first player in NBA history to Post 25 points, 25 rebounds, five steals, and five assists in a single game.
- The first Laker since Shaquille O’Neal to register the 25-point, 25-rebound threshold since Shaquille O’Neal did it in 2004 and the first player in the league to do so this season, with the last players being Nikola Jokic and Ivica Zubac in 2022.
- Posted seven steals for the first time in a regular-season game. He previously bagged seven steals in a playoff game, a first-round contest in 2023 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
- Tied his career-high of 10 offensive rebounds in a game. He last did so during the 2022-23 season against the Brooklyn Nets.
Ultimately, Davis fell just short of one of the biggest NBA records out there: The five-by-five game. Had he managed to block five shots as opposed to three, he would have become only the 23rd player in NBA history to do so. On the other hand, we can’t imagine that he lost any sleep although he would have become only the fourth player in the league’s history to post such a stat line on two occasions - yes he did this once before back in 2018. Who were the others to do so? Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving, and Andrei Kirilenko i.e., legends of the game.
At any rate, the win was the most important thing for the Lakers team that now sits on a record of 36-30 and is currently two games behind the No. 8-seeded Dallas Mavericks. At 11-5 in their last 16 games, it’s clear the team is on the up despite a rough start to the campaign. If they can get more games like this out of Davis, they should have no problems making the postseason and from there, who knows what can happen.