Anthony Davis' season has been over for more than week, but he is now facing one of his biggest challenges yet: boredom.
"Nothing. Just bored," Davis, the New Orleans Pelicans star, told ESPN on Wednesday when asked how he's filling his days away from basketball. "It's hard to find stuff to do. I've been thinking about picking up drawing again or some other hobby to spend my time.
"It's something to get my mind off the realization that I'm gonna be out for several months."
Davis, 23, will be held from basketball activities for the next three to four months after undergoing an ultrasonic debridement and an injection of his own bone marrow on March 25 to correct a stress reaction and tendinopathy in his left knee.
Davis is getting around on crutches and said he has already begun minor rehab, including leg raises and knee bends in order to activate and strengthen his quads, calves, glutes and hamstrings.
"As far as the knee goes, it's really nothing where it's bothering me," he said. "It feels fine. All the rehab I do, it feels great. It's definitely moving in the right direction."
Davis has missed 68 games over his four-year NBA career, but the procedure, performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, was the first major one of his life.
"I was definitely nervous, just because I never had a surgical procedure done before." he told ESPN. "So, [I was] nervous going in, and all the steps to get to it. They put you down, and you don't realize nothing until you get out. I think it was just more nervousness than anything."
Davis was expecting to have a second procedure to correct a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder, but after consultation and evaluation it was determined he did not need one.
Though he said he has dealt with pain from the injury on and off since his rookie season, Davis said his shoulder feels "fine" and that he'll begin rehabbing it once he is off crutches.
"It was gonna be tough to move around with the knee and the shoulder," he said. "It was good news that I only have to get one procedure done."
Davis is one of seven players the Pelicans (27-46) have already lost for the rest of the season. Jrue Holiday (right orbital fracture) and Alonzo Gee (right quad) were shut down on Tuesday, and Quincy Pondexter (left knee), Tyreke Evans (right knee), Eric Gordon (right finger) and Bryce Dejean-Jones (right wrist) have all been ruled out since the new year began.
New Orleans has lost a combined 276 games to injury this season with nine more to play. Their 36 starting lineup combinations mark the most used in the NBA.
"You've got a lot of guys going down," Davis said. "But the funny thing about it is, all the stuff is uncontrollable. Like, Jrue is running to get the ball and just gets elbowed in the eye. Stuff like that. Guys going in the air and comes down and falls on his wrist. Or concussions. Or Eric's playing and breaks his finger. You can't prevent that stuff. That stuff don't happen every day in the game."
Davis played in a career-low 61 games this season, finishing with averages of 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. He stands to make an estimated $24 million extra on the maximum extension he signed last offseason if he is voted onto one of the three All-NBA teams.
"You don't want to rush this," he said about his recovery. "All the trainers are doing a great job going by the plan, and it's been working so far."