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Anthony Davis had ‘one of his best games’ for Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd now makes exciting prediction

Originally posted on NBA Analysis Network
By Charlie Walker | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 11:36 AM ET

Anthony Davis has the opportunity to recapture his superstar form with the Dallas Mavericks this season.

When he won the 2020 NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, it looked as if Anthony Davis would be considered one of the world’s best players for years to come. But his injury struggles in recent seasons meant that reality never materialized.

Davis remains one of the NBA’s best-ever defenders when he’s on the court. He has averaged over 2 blocks per game in every season since 2021, and has the ability to lock down all five positions on the court.

That’s something that was lost when Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers. The Lakers lacked presence at the rim, allowing Rudy Gobert to go off for 27 points and 24 rebounds against them in the playoffs. The Lakers then spent all summer looking for a replacement at center.

Meanwhile, Davis’ performance with the Mavericks in the preseason led to Head Coach Jason Kidd predicting big things for Dallas’ defense this season.

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Jason Kidd’s prediction for Dallas Mavericks’ defense

Davis led the Mavericks with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the team’s 114-101 preseason win against the Utah Jazz.

Kidd called it one of his best games in Dallas, and spoke about the impact Davis’ shot blocking can have on his team’s defense this season.

Speaking to reporters after the win, he said, “This is probably one of his best games. We’ve only played a couple, but I think you can see his conditioning.

Anthony Davis leads the way for the @dallasmavs as they improve to 2-1 in the preseason!

25 PTS
6 REB
2 STL
2 BLK pic.twitter.com/imfiuiMm7I
— NBA (@NBA) October 14, 2025

“You can see that he is starting to ramp up more minutes, and we’ll ramp up his minutes again on Thursday, but if he’s going to play like he did tonight, that puts us in a good seat to win a lot of games.

“Being able to do it from the inside out, playmake defensively, you can see he was into the game from the beginning. It was a really good game. We got to build on that.”

And Kidd’s prediction for the Dallas defense next season? He thinks the team will be ranked among the league’s best in rim protection.

“I think we could be one of the best shot blocking teams in the league, “ said Kidd. The numbers certainly back that up.

Dallas Mavericks have a dominant front court

The Mavericks have been an above-average rim-protecting team over the last two seasons, ranking seventh in blocked shots last year with 5.4 per game. That’s nearly two shots back from the league-leading Los Angeles Clippers, who swatted 7.1 shots per game last year.

Adding Davis, who has ranked in the top five among all players over three of the last five seasons, could be the push this team needs to become the NBA’s best shot blockers.

NBA Season	Anthony Davis shots blocked average
2020-21	1.6
2021-22	2.3
2022-23	2
2023-24	2.3
2024-25	2.2

He averaged 2.2 blocks in 51 games last year, which is consistent with his average since he was drafted to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2012. Adding Davis to a front court featuring Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively makes the Mavericks an immovable object down low.

The only thing that can stop this team from leading the league in shots blocked is their opponents’ outright refusal to take shots in the paint.

This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.

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