Anthony Davis will miss the Los Angeles Lakers' game on Thursday against the Detroit Pistons with a quad contusion.

Davis had 23 points and eight rebounds in 35 minutes in the Lakers' 107-106 loss on Wednesday at the Philadelphia 76ers.

Davis made a potential game-winning shot with 11.2 seconds left in the game before Tobias Harris made a 15-footer to win it for Philadelphia. 

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook made LeBron James the betting favorite for NBA MVP on Monday at 4-1 odds.

James, who began the season in the top six of MVP betting, is currently the favorite or the runner-up at most sportsbooks. 

"People have to be more in awe of what he's doing the older he gets. ...  I think that could sway some people who didn't vote for him last year," said SuperBook NBA oddsmaker Jeff Sherman.

DraftKings has James and Luka Doncic as co-favorites at 5-1, with James training Doncic at William Hill.

James has not won the MVP since 2013. He would be the oldest MVP in league history should he win this season. 

While the Los Angeles Lakers continue to demonstrate why they're considered championship favorites with a 12-4 record, Anthony Davis admits he's playing below his standards.

"Right now, to be hard on myself, man, I think I suck right now," Davis said after finishing with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks in a road win at the Milwaukee Bucks. "I'm not making shots. I'm not making free throws. But I think tonight my aggressiveness, just being a [post-up threat] and getting to the paint, allowed guys to get open."

Davis tried to be more involved as a facilitator. 

"My aggressiveness tonight," Davis said, "that's the only way I feel like I'm gonna get out of this funk or whatever that I'm in.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself to be a better basketball player every game, and that's what I'm gonna continue to do."

LeBron James has signed with PepsiCo following 17 years with Coca-Cola, confirmed Brian Windhorst of ESPN (the news was originally reported by Front Office Sports).

James is expected to promote the Mountain Dew brand, which is one of the NBA's top sponsors.

PepsiCo has been the league's official beverage partner since 2015.

James initially signed with Coca-Cola in the summer of 2003. His deal expired last year with both sides unable to reach an extension. 

Markieff Morris has been fined $35,000 and DeMarcus Cousins has been fined $10,000 for their roles in an on-court altercation.

The incident, which occurred with 2:15 remaining in the first quarter of the Lakers’ 120-102 victory over the Rockets on Jan. 10 at Toyota Center, began when Morris committed a Flagrant Foul 1 by knocking Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate to the ground.

Cousins continued the incident by shoving Morris to the floor, for which Cousins was assessed a technical foul. Morris further escalated the situation by charging after Cousins, shoving him and continuing to aggressively pursue him. Morris was assessed a technical foul and ejected.

Talen Horton-Tucker is expected to receive interest from "multiple teams" in free agency with the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks specifically mentioned.

The Lakers can give Horton-Tucker a contract starting around $10.5 million while rival teams will be limited by the mid-level exception starting at approximately $9 million. A quirk in the cap, however, can allow for a third-year balloon payment worth as much as the maximum salary with a raise in the fourth. A rival team could pay Horton-Tucker $9 million in the first year, $10 million in the second year then jump to more than $32 million in the third year and $32 million in the fourth. The Lakers could match the deal.

“The way the rules are, I don’t see the Lakers letting him go,” one general manager told Heavy.com. “But teams can make this a more difficult decision for the Lakers than they’d like. Teams that have a lot of cap space and are looking to gamble on a young guy, why not put your money into him? The upside is obvious.”

The Los Angeles Lakers plan on scheduling a visit to the White House at some point during the 20-21 season after Joe Biden is sworn into office as the 46th President of the United States.

Biden will have his inauguration on January 20th.

The Lakers will not play at the Washington Wizards until the second half of the season.

The last team to take a White House visit was the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers on November 10th while Barack Obama was in office.