Anthony Davis wears injured DeMarcus Cousins' jersey in 2018 NBA All-Star Game

LOS ANGELES — New Orleans Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins was selected to appear in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, but was forced to miss the festivities after suffering a ruptured left Achilles tendon. When the event tipped off on Sunday, though, his Pelicans teammate Anthony Davis ensured that his fallen comrade was still represented on the floor at Staples Center:

Anthony Davis pays tribute to his injured teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. (Screencap via TNT)
Anthony Davis pays tribute to his injured teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. (Screencap via TNT)

A cool gesture by Davis, who started at center for Team LeBron against Stephen Curry’s squad in the first-ever “captains pick the teams” iteration of the NBA’s midseason exhibition, and got his buddy on the board early with an alley-oop finish off a bounce-pass feed from LeBron James:

According to the NBA, Davis will switch back to his familiar No. 23 later in the game. But first, he got to show his teammate and friend that even though he’s gone from the on-court action, he’s certainly not forgotten.

– – – – – – –

Dan Devine is a writer and editor for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@oath.com or follow him on Twitter!

More NBA coverage from Yahoo Sports:
‘Starstruck’ rookie pulls upset in NBA Dunk Contest
Report: Knicks coach Hornacek shoved Joakim Noah during argument
Durant blames himself for beef with Westbrook
NBA star throws down heroic ‘Black Panther’ dunk
LeBron to Fox News: ‘Thank you, whatever her name is’