Feb 8, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) dunks the ball over Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) and center Alperen Sengun (28) during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images After the seismic NBA trade that left fans speechless last weekend, Anthony Davis hurt himself in his debut with the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks beat the Houston Rockets 116-105 on Saturday afternoon behind Davis’ 24 points and 13 rebounds at halftime. While Mavericks fans surely hadn’t forgotten about Luka Doncic after one half of basketball, they were feeling better than they once were about the return from that trade.
However, coming out of the half, Davis suffered what appeared to be a scary non-contact injury. He immediately benched himself, and the team took some time before declaring his return as doubtful. He never returned to the game and finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes of action. After the game, he labeled his injury as being in the groin and quad area.
“Leg got tight, like a little spasm,” Davis told reporters after the win. “Obviously dealing with the ab strain still, so just tried to get it loose; it wouldn’t loosen up, let go, but it’s nothing serious. I’m fine.”
In his 13-season NBA career, Davis does have an “injury-prone” label that follows him, dating back to his time with the New Orleans Pelicans. Despite this, he’s been relatively healthy this season.
Later Saturday night, ESPN’s Shams Charania confirmed Davis’ postgame thoughts, that this is not believed to be a serious injury, and was told that he tried returning to the game, but the Mavericks preferred to play this injury safe.
“Anthony Davis has some soreness in that groin area, but it’s not expected to be a serious injury,” Charania said on NBA Countdown.
Charania elaborated that since the NBA All-Star break is just about one week away, we could see the Mavericks take a super safe approach, shutting Davis down to be completely healthy for a second-half run.
Davis is an All-Star and was expected to reunite with LeBron James on Shaquille O’Neal’s roster.
If the Mavericks do elect to take a conservative path regarding this groin soreness, they will be without Davis in their three remaining games before the All-Star break. The Mavericks host the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night and the Miami Heat on Thursday night. That would set Davis up for a February 21st return against his former team, the Pelicans.
Currently the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, a strong second half of the season is needed from Davis and the Mavericks to avoid the Play-In Tournament and to give themselves a legitimate shot against some of the top teams in the league.
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