"I don't care what he says, people say stuff for ratings" - Anthony Davis responds to Charles Barkley for calling him 'Street Clothes'

Anthony Davis responded to Charles Barkley for giving him the nickname "Street Clothes" last year. Davis lived up to the nickname last season when he went on to miss 42 games for the LA Lakers. Just two games into the new season, Davis almost suffered another injury.

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Davis insisted that he's not bothered by Barkley's comments. He thinks that people like Barkley are just using him for ratings. He just wants to play basketball and prove to everyone that he's still among the best in the NBA.

"I don't care what he says," Davis said. "People say stuff for ratings. Like, they got to push their show, push their blog, push their podcast, whatever it is. So, people got to say something to bring in viewers. It is what it is.

"I go out there and play basketball and let them do their job. My job is to hoop. Their job is to talk about me."

Charles Barkley started calling Anthony Davis "Street Clothes" in the 2021 NBA playoffs. Davis missed the latter part of the LA Lakers' first-round series against the Phoenix Suns with a groin injury. He had already missed 36 games in the regular season, so he was basically in street clothes for half the season.

Barkley was given more ammo to call Davis "Street Clothes" last season when he missed 42 games. Davis endured a couple of major injuries, including a sprained MCL and a sprained foot. He also played through a painful wrist injury that might have affected his shot.

Davis has not played a full regular season in his career. He has only played in 70 or more games in a season twice. He's one of the most injury-prone players of his generation. At the end of his career, Davis could very well be another case of "what if" in NBA history.

To read Anthony Davis' entire interview with the Los Angeles Times, click here.

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Anthony Davis already dealing with a back injury

Anthony Davis of the LA Lakers.

Anthony Davis told reporters on the LA Lakers' media day that he wants to play all 82 games this season. However, Davis missed half of the Lakers' six preseason games due to back tightness. And in just the second game of the season, Davis took a hard fall against the LA Clippers on Thursday.

The one-time NBA champ tried to block Kawhi Leonard's shot but got caught in the up-fake. Davis stayed in the game for another two minutes before the Lakers called a timeout. He went back to the locker room for a few minutes, but eventually finished the game.

In a postgame interview, Davis revealed that there was nothing to worry about his injury. With the LA Lakers not playing until Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers, Davis has two days to rest his back.

"I just didn't want to sit down and let it stiffen up," Davis said. "I just went in the tunnel, tried to stay loose until I got called to go back in the game."