Anthony Davis leaves it all on court as Mavericks' season comes to end

One has to wonder if Anthony Davis envisioned the 2024-25 NBA season ending this way for him.

He started it with the Los Angeles Lakers in what was his sixth season with the iconic franchise. Midway through, he was a cornerstone piece in one of the most shocking NBA trades of all time.

Davis was part of a three-team deal with the Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz that ultimately saw him sent to Dallas and Luka Doncic sent to play with LeBron James.

During the Mavericks' 120-106 blowout loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday in the play-in tournament, Davis went to the bench with 5:22 remaining while dealing with a sore calf. He finished the game with 40 points and nine rebounds, so he certainly did his part to keep the Mavericks going.

Ultimately, despite the way this season has gone, that's what his goal was going into the game.

"I just wanted to leave everything out on the floor, no matter what," Davis said after the contest, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

A strained left adductor injury suffered in his first game with the Mavericks kept him out for six weeks after the trade. Though it certainly wasn't his fault, he was also the key face on the other side of the trade that saw Dallas fans lose their superstar player.

"Obviously, it's a lot of emotions that I know is not directed toward me," Davis said. "The city loved [Doncic]. You get rid of the guy, new guy comes in. While they want to embrace you and are thankful for you, it still stings. So I'm just thankful and appreciative of the city of Dallas and their fans to welcome me and my teammates coming into a situation."

Davis could have shut it down because of the injury, but he came back for the final three weeks of the season and helped Dallas make the play-in. 

He then gave it his all against the Grizzlies.

"I just wanted to, if I was able to play, come back and play," Davis explained. "I think the fans deserved it, my teammates deserved it, organization deserved it for myself to come out and just do whatever I can to get back on the floor to try to compete at the highest level and try to obviously get further than what we did this season."