As the Dallas Mavericks season is coming to an end in not too long, Anthony Davis made a human decision in a league of business. Monday, he logged 26 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets with a stat line of 12 points, six rebounds and three assists, and helped secure the win in his return after an injury absence due to a left adductor strain.
Despite Davis clearly not playing at full capacity, jogging and playing it safe during the game, his presence made a difference - his gravity opening up the floor for his teammates - and he ended the game with a plus 12.
After the game, Davis said that it had been tough watching the team go out there every night, playing to the point of exhaustion, constantly undermanned and still giving it all they had in them.
“I just want to go out there to do as much as I can to give them a breather at least,” he said.
Anthony Davis on the last 6 weeks since suffering his adductor strain:
“It was tough seeing these guys battling every night. Winning close games. Losing close games. Blowing teams out. Getting blown out…For me, it was never a thought about if I was going to come back & play.” pic.twitter.com/2C7s1OIngc
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) March 25, 2025
In a league where so much is explained as ‘business decisions’; trades, tanking, cuts, injury management, Anthony Davis made the human decision.
These days, when we constantly get bombarded with the message that “it’s not personal, it’s business”, everything is about money and explained in financial terms - this is a refreshing show of humanity. To see Davis make the decision to play even though it may not be beneficial to himself.
Because, yes, would it be the better investment (again, with the business lingo) to rest and let a season doomed for irrelevance pass without further ado? Yes.
But just like when we used to talk about Luka Doncic and his decision to keep playing for his country, despite the fact that they probably won’t have a chance to do much these next years - and he could use the rest - we’re missing something.
The human element. The feelings, the emotions. We can’t just count on these guys to act like cold businessmen, only worried about the bottomline of their investment (their bodies) - people who will cut everything out of their lives that doesn’t optimize their ability to make as much money and be as productive as possible.
And we should be happy about that. Basketball is not a computer game, a chess board, a slew of robots making every decision with one purpose: to optimize their bodies and productivity.
What if basketball was a way to show emotions, feelings, artistic and creative output and flow - one of the last frontiers of humanity, which the automated, digital world could not reach, because it is everything the are not?
The human element, the emotions and friendships. Davis’ choice to play shows that it still plays a part in how players act and in their decision-making. And that’s exactly what makes sports and basketball worth watching. It’s what gives it an edge.
In these days of AI-generated reality creeping in on us, sports and basketball are delightfully unpredictable. No matter the parleys and betting lines, we don’t know who will have good games, who will win and whose emotions will run high. We can guess, but we’re rarely right.
And the human element of this affects everyone, from teammates to fans and commentators, excited to have the superstar back on the floor. As Naji Marshall said, having Anthony Davis back “makes everything feel so much better out there on the court.”
He was excited that the lane was easier to attack since defenders don’t want to help off Davis.
Naji Marshall said having Anthony Davis back "makes everything feel so much better out there on the court."
Marshall feels the lane is easier to attack since defenses don't want to help off Davis.
Davis' paint presence makes it easier for on-ball defenders to get into the ball. pic.twitter.com/8oyHoBzTIw
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) March 25, 2025
And as the world grows to be more influenced by AI and robots in one form or other these days, basketball will continue to give us a much needed human element. Just like Anthony Davis did Monday. It may not have been a wise business-decision, but basketball is about so much more than business. Basketball is about feelings.
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