Eye Injury Doesn’t Stop Anthony Davis from Equaling Unreal Shaquille O’Neal Dunk Record

The Los Angeles Lakers fell 117-127 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a crucial match. The loss to the Timberwolves dropped the Lakers back down to the ninth seed. Anthony Davis was the leader on the court as LeBron James got ruled out. The Lakers were leading into the final seconds of the first quarter when Davis got injured after a successful dunk. Though that injury ruled him out for the remainder of the match, he equaled Shaquille O’Neal’s dunk record.

This record helped him become only the third player since 1996. Mike Trudell reported for Lakers on Twitter, sharing, “Anthony Davis notched his 200 dunk of the season in the 1st Q, joining Shaq (six times) and JaVale McGee (once) as the only Lakers to hit that mark since dunks started being tracked in 1996.”

Lakers fans would have hoped to see Davis do more of his magic in the absence of LeBron. Like the previous game, on March 26 against the Milwaukee Bucks, he played for 52 minutes and scored 34 points, securing the win. Shaquille O’Neal in the past has been critical of Davis’s performance because he expects more from the ‘Brow’.

Davis has broken multiple Shaquille O’Neal records

The tough love treatment from Shaq towards Davis only fuels him to do better. His family approves of the same and wants Big Diesel to continue it. After Davis’s heroic performance against the Bucks, Shaq revealed the reason, mentioning, “He[Davis] knows how I feel about him and I’ve watched him play. His mother and father came up to me and said, ‘We want you to stay on our boy,’ because, I know what he’s capable of.”

Anthony Davis hasn’t disappointed Shaq or any Lakers fans as she has broken records and emerged as a key figure for the Lakers. Earlier in March, he became the first Laker since Shaq to have a 25 & 25 game. Also, the first player in NBA history to record 25 PTS, 25 REB, 5 AST & 5 STL in a game.

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Helping the team defensively, with 5+ blocks in 8 games in a single season is a record he shares with Shaq. 20 years have passed since that season when Shaq achieved the record while playing for the Lakers.

Their next match is against the Golden State Warriors. Currently, the Lakers have a slim 1.5-game lead over them. Los Angeles could very well fall to the 10th seed if they lose to Golden State and drop another game either to the Memphis Grizzlies or New Orleans Pelicans.

Read More: Anthony Davis Injury Report: Will 9x All-Star Play Against Warriors? Latest Update For The Crucial Seeding Game