The Dallas Mavericks are just 6-11 since trading away superstar point guard Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis back in early February.
However, the team's poor results are through no fault of Davis, who's been sidelined since making his Mavericks debut on Feb. 8-a 116-105 win over the Houston Rockets-with an adductor injury that's kept him out for over a month.
In his lone appearance with the Mavericks, Davis played like a difference-maker, notching 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in 31 minutes. And though Dallas has struggled without the 10-time All-Star, it got some encouraging news about Davis' potential return on Monday.
Per Mavericks PR, the team assigned both Davis and Jaden Hardy to the Texas Legends of the G League on Monday, seemingly signaling his rehab is going well and he's trending to return to the lineup sometime in the not-too-distant future.
Mavericks fans believing Davis may have been lost for the season can now breathe a small sigh of relief as it's possible the 32-year-old power forward rejoins the team at some point before the regular season ends on April 13 (Dallas has 13 regular-season games left).
ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania casted some doubt on Davis' status when he reported on the "Pat McAfee Show" after the season-ending ACL injury to Mavericks start Kyrie Irving that there was a possibility the team saw the last of Davis this year.
"I think him, his representatives are going to huddle up, I think they're going to have some very hard conversations," Charania said. "It's not out of the realm of possibility that one game was the last time we've seen Anthony Davis this season."
However, NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported last week that Davis will likely make an in-season return and ESPN's Tim McMahon reported on Monday that the plan is for Davis to ramp up his 5-on-5 work as he prepares to make his NBA return.
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This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 8:54 AM.