The Los Angeles Lakers are as well-represented at the 2024 Summer Olympics as any franchise in the NBA. It was a calculated risk by all involved, as playing a competitive tournament during the offseason carries its pros and cons.
As the group stage nears its conclusion, the Lakers have been dealt a potentially disastrous hand—but narrowly avoided catastrophe.
2023-24 All-NBA honorees Anthony Davis and LeBron James are representing the Lakers with Team USA. Similarly, another Los Angeles starter, Rui Hachimura, has played a starring role for Japan.
Unfortunately, Hachimura's tremendous run at the Olympics was cut short by a calf injury. Per Kyle Hightower of The Associated Press:
"As my injury required early treatment, I was unfortunately unable to accompany the team in accordance with NBA/FIBA rules,” Hachimura, who plays for the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, said in a statement. “I would like to thank all the spectators who supported me at the venue, basketball fans around the world, and all the fans in Japan. I think that together with my teammates, we played a very good game for Japanese basketball. I am proud to have been able to play as a member of Akatsuki Japan."
It's a disappointing development for Hachimura, who most recently posted 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting during a thrilling encounter with France.
Lakers starter Rui Hachimura out of the Olympics with a calf injury
The bad news didn't stop there, as another crucial Los Angeles player suffered an injury scare of their own. Davis and former Lakers forward Wenyen Gabriel collided during the clash between South Sudan and Team USA, with Gabriel coming down on Davis' foot.
Thankfully, Davis told Ben Golliver of The Washington Post that he avoided an injury and will be able to continue playing for Team USA in future games.
USA's Anthony Davis said he was "100 percent" after appearing to tweak his ankle getting tangled up with former Lakers teammate Wenyen Gabriel.
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 31, 2024
Davis joked: "Wenyen being Wenyen. He's my guy. I was falling and he came down too and just kind of stepped on my foot."
Two injury scares, one massive silver lining: Davis is completely healthy and Hachimura should make a full recovery by the start of the 2024-25 season.
Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura injury news shakes up Lakers offseason
Davis being at 100 percent is the biggest blessing imaginable for the Lakers at this point. New head coach JJ Redick has spoken openly about Davis becoming the hub of Los Angeles' offense, as well as aiding his pursuit of the Defensive Player of the Year award.
As such, Davis having to recover from an injury heading into training camp would be a disastrous result when there's an entirely new system to learn under Redick.
The Hachimura news is less exciting, as there's an injury that could take weeks or even months to fully heal depending on its severity. The reason Los Angeles can breathe a sigh of relief, however, is the fact that it wasn't worse than it proved to be.
As such, Hachimura could be back at 100 percent before the start of training camp—or, assuming he avoided a complete tear, the early stages of the 2024-25 season.
It's possible that the injury will linger into the start of the 2024-25 season, but a proper treatment and rehabilitation plan should prevent any further issues. Even if that requires some measure of time lost in training camp, it should resolve itself by November at the latest.
According to Harvard Health Publishing, a mild-to-moderate muscle strain in the leg is typically fully healed and recovered from within eight to 10 weeks.
The 10-week recovery time would have Hachimura back at 100 percent by mid-October. That would have him miss two of the Lakers' announced preseason games, but it's a far more desirable result than playing without him in the regular season.
It's never ideal to hear that a key player is facing the threat of injury, let alone two, but the Lakers seem to have dodged the proverbial bullet with Davis and Hachimura.