After a long wait, Anthony Davis finally made his on-court comeback for the Dallas Mavericks.
Six weeks since he went down from an abductor strain during his electrifying debut, Anthony Davis made his long awaited return for his new team.
Dropping 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block in 26 minutes, Davis impressed fans as he anchored the Dallas Mavericks’ 120-101 March 24 victory against the Brooklyn Nets.
From his two-way presence, Davis’ impact really helped, allowing Naji Marshall to contribute from the bench, earning a huge nod from head coach Jason Kidd.
Almost everyone believes that this 2024-25 season is a lost one already for the Mavericks.
Reeling from the stunning Luka Doncic trade and Kyrie Irving’s brutal ACL injury, Dallas has lost any realistic prospect of success.
Davis has begged to disagree, expressing his desire to continue playing it out after 18 games of inactivity.
Right at his postgame interview against the Nets, Davis argued that he wants to push through in order to help his teammates amid their historic injury-plagued condition.
And for ESPN’s Michael Wilbon, Davis’ perspective is simply commendable.
“At a time when so many players miss games, I thought it was impressive, and I like listening to Anthony Davis’ comments afterward,” the NBA analyst said on Pardon The Interruption. “You could see it meant something to him.
“And he said that he was very frank about it, ‘I need to come back and be with these guys, given everything that has gone down here’.
“Anthony Davis, as you know, we’ve been around Anthony Davis for years now, more than a decade, he’s just, he’s a nice guy anyway, from A to Z his whole time we’ve seen him in public life.”
With their victory against the Nets, the Mavericks (35-38) kept themselves afloat for a potential Play-In bid. The Phoenix Suns (35-37) and the Sacramento Kings (35-36) are their main competitors for the last two spots of the tournament.
Dallas still has 10 games left on their regular season calendar. And with Davis back, they can at least give themselves a chance to possibly enter the playoffs instead of waving the white flag, despite being urged to.
“I think that he’s really impressive now,” Wilbon added about Davis. “The incentive is that he can take the easy way and say, ‘You know what? Maybe we should be in the Lottery. Maybe I shouldn’t risk anything more’.
“No, he didn’t do that. And so I think the Mavericks could have some energy, some sympathetic energy behind them, as they maybe try to get that 10 spot, to get that Play-In spot.”
As Davis continues to fully regain his star power after a long layoff, there is a game to keep a close eye on – the visit of the Lakers in April.
