Anthony Davis not named to All-Star reserves for 2022

LeBron James will be the sole All-Star for the Lakers this season, as Anthony Davis was not named to the reserves on Thursday. The reserves were announced on TNT prior to a slate of games that includes the Lakers and Clippers.

Davis’ season, from a statistical standpoint, has been par for the course for the 8-time All-Star as he’s averaged 23.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks while shooting 52.5% from the field, that coming despite his 3-point shot cratering this season. However, Davis missing 16 games in the middle of the campaign with an MCL sprain set back his all-star candidacy, at least in the short term.

That absence also came at a costly time, as the coaches across the league who vote on the award did not see the star big man on the court very much and, thusly, did not vote for him despite Davis looking as if he hasn’t missed a beat since returning, including a 30-point, 15-rebound performance against Portland.

Still, Davis could be named a reserve as an injury replacement. Warriors All-Star Draymond Green said on TNT that he would likely not be able to play, so that leaves at least one spot open. Given Davis’ recent strong run of play since returning from his own knee injury, it’s likely he’ll be in consideration at the very least should Green — or anyone from the Western Conference — have to sit out. Commissioner Adam Silver selects injury replacement players.

The league also announced on Thursday the newly redesigned Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP trophy. The MVP award itself was renamed after Bryant following his passing in 2020, but the league’s redesign pays homage to Bryant in a number of different ways. Davis won the award in 2017, while James has won it three times, most recently in 2018.

The All-Star game will be played in Cleveland this year on Feb. 20. James was named one of the two captains after leading the league in voting alongside Kevin Durant of the Eastern Conference. Those two players will hold the now annual draft to select their teams on Feb. 10, even if it’s looking increasingly unlikely that either captain will actually play in the event.

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