At the end of his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis formally told the team that he wanted them to acquire a center so he could play more power forward. Davis was forced to play all of his minutes at center for each of the previous two seasons before the 2024-25 season (2022-23 (1% at power forward) and 2023-24), and he was ready for a change to unlock the best version of himself.
Davis' desire was never fulfilled, as the Lakers didn't acquire a center, and they ended up trading him to the Dallas Mavericks at the 2025 trade deadline for Luka Doncic. Now, Davis is in a position to play plenty of power forward as a Maverick, and Dallas is set to grant him this longtime wish for an entire 82-game season.
Immediately after being traded to the Mavericks, Davis showed excitement to play with both Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford. He was stepping into a situation that complemented his preferred playstyle rather than forcing him to play the five, and even though Davis, Lively II, and Gafford all battled injuries to end the season, Davis still played plenty of power forward over his nine games as a Maverick.
Anthony Davis' Dallas role flips the script from Los Angeles
As a Maverick, Davis played about 39 percent of his minutes at power forward, which was a major step in the right direction after what he went through in Los Angeles. During the 2024-25 season as a Laker, Davis played 100 percent of his minutes at center, and his shortened first season as a Maverick was a good preview of what we could expect out of him moving forward.
Next season, Davis is bound to play much more than 39 percent at power forward since Lively II and Gafford are poised to be healthy to begin the year, and this will be the first season since the 2020-21 season that he will get to play a majority of minutes at power forward. This doesn't mean that Davis won't play any center, as he could end up closing at the five oftentimes, and injuries will happen, but he is going to be more comfortable in his role than he has been for some time.
He won't have to worry about his team putting his desires to play his preferred position on the back burner like the Lakers did, as Nico Harrison is clearly all in on making him a centerpiece of the team, and he is putting a team around him that complements his game excellently.
Lively II and Gafford, being rim protectors, are going to hold down the paint while Davis can roam and make his defensive havoc felt off the ball. On the other end of the floor, Gafford and Lively II can focus on controlling the post and running the floor while Davis can look to dominate with his face-up game.
Davis is one of the most unstoppable bigs in the NBA when his jumper is falling, and playing alongside another big is going to allow him to lean into his strengths rather than having to tussle down low all the time.
As the 2025-26 season begins in less than two months, the Mavericks will be making Davis happy by allowing him to play power forward, and if this plan succeeds, the Lakers will be forced to watch from home and dream about how they should've utilized his skills differently over the last few years.