The Dallas Mavericks hopes of earning a spot in the NBA's play-in tournament are on life support, as they have fallen down to the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference. However, it looks like they could get a major boost in the form of superstar forward Anthony Davis, who appears to be close to returning from his adductor injury.
Davis was picked up in the Mavericks shocking Luka Doncic trade, but in his debut for the team on Feb. 8, he suffered the aforementioned adductor injury that has held him out of action for the past six weeks. While some folks in Dallas want to shut Davis down for the season, he reportedly is intent on suiting up again this year.
"He is steadfast in his determination to want to return this season, maybe as soon as next week, despite the fact there are people within the Mavericks organization that have tried to talk him out of it, said the risk-reward is not there. There are people who'd rather shut him down for the season. AD's not trying to hear all of that," Tim MacMahon of ESPN said on "NBA Today" last week.
Davis has been ramping up his work behind the scenes, and it appears as if it's close to paying off for him. After reports emerged that Davis could return on Dallas' upcoming road trip, the Mavericks upgraded their new superstar from out to doubtful for their contest with the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.
"After my report yesterday that Anthony Davis is poised to return from a left adductor strain during the Mavericks' upcoming four-game road trip, Dallas has officially upgraded Davis to doubtful Monday at Brooklyn," Marc Stein shared in a post on X.
After my report yesterday that Anthony Davis is poised to return from a left adductor strain during the Mavericks' upcoming four-game road trip, Dallas has officially upgraded Davis to doubtful Monday at Brooklyn.
Full story on Davis' looming comeback: https://t.co/qxmBZdQrvzhttps://t.co/KIglmF7w7l
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 23, 2025
In 43 games, Davis is averaging 25.7 points, 12 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 52.8% from the floor. Dallas will face off against Brooklyn at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday night, with the hope being they can start to string together some momentum after beating the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
Related: Anthony Davis' Latest Injury Update Amid Mavericks Struggles Turns Heads
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This story was originally published March 23, 2025 at 2:13 PM.