After watching his team endure an injury-plagued 2024-25 NBA season, Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison provided a positive update on superstar big man Anthony Davis.
Anthony Davis Expected To Avoid Offseason Surgery
Davis, acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team blockbuster trade deadline deal on Feb. 2, was limited in his first half-season with Dallas. The 10-time All-Star suffered a left adductor strain during his Feb. 8 debut against the Houston Rockets, sidelining him for 18 games.
Upon his return, the Mavericks exercised caution with Davis, whose co-star, Kyrie Irving, suffered a season-ending torn left ACL on March 3. The big man was restricted to nine regular-season appearances, with the Irving-less Mavericks finishing 10th in the Western Conference (39-43).
Davis and Co. fell 120-106 to the Memphis Grizzlies during Friday’s road play-in clash, missing out on a chance to secure the eighth seed in the playoffs. The 2020 NBA champion exited the contest early after suffering an apparent right leg injury in the fourth quarter before returning.
However, according to Harrison, there are no lingering concerns about Davis’ health, and he won’t require offseason surgery.
“No, he finished the season fine,” Harrison said during Monday’s season-ending press conference. “He feels good about where he’s at, and he will continue to build and get healthy.”
How Could Mavs Stack Up?
Harrison added that he remains optimistic about Dallas’ projected starting five of Irving, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Davis and Dereck Lively II’s outlook when healthy.
“We feel that’s a championship-caliber team and we would have been winning at a high level, and that would have quieted some of the outrage,” Harrison said. “And so, unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that, so it just continued to go on and on.”
As the front office executive alluded to, the quintet didn’t play a single game together before Irving’s season-ending setback. Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, the nine-time All-Star is hopeful to return by the start of January. Thus, Mavericks fans will likely have to wait until next year to see what their new-look core can do at full strength.
In the meantime, Davis will look to get back to 100% ahead of his 14th season and first full campaign with Dallas.
Across nine outings with the Mavericks, Davis averaged 20.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 2.2 blocks and 0.8 3-pointers per game, shooting 46.1%.
Next season, he will likely be tasked with helping his squad weather the storm in the ultra-competitive West until Irving completes his rehab.
