Jason Kidd gets brutally honest on Anthony Davis’ conditioning

The Dallas Mavericks have gotten off to an 0-2 start to the 2025-26 NBA season, and chatter in the NBA world has centered around Anthony Davis and his conditioning. Davis underwent eye surgery in the offseason, requiring him to wear protective eyewear for the rest of his career. As the regular season has tipped-off, Davis might not be in quite the shape that the Mavericks need out of him.

Prior to the Mavericks’ Sunday game against the Toronto Raptors, head coach Jason Kidd spoke about Anthony Davis’ conditioning, and what it will take to get him in the type of shape the team needs him to be in, as per Ron Harrod Jr. of DLLS Mavs.

“Again, he’s been out with the surgery, so I think him playing 36 minutes last night will help with that conditioning,” Jason Kidd said. “Playing PJ [Washington] 39 minutes is not something that we want to do. So a lot of those guys. . .were probably tired and made some mental mistakes, but I’d rather that happen now than later. I think AD is trending in the right direction of being in the shape that we need him to.”

If Davis is not quite there in terms of his conditioning to start the season, then it has to at least be impressive the production that he’s still been able to give the Mavericks.

Through the Mavericks’ first two games of the season, Davis is averaging 24.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocked shots in just about 35 minutes of play. What has been noticeable though is Davis’ shooting efficiency. He’s shooting only 39 percent from the field and 25 percent from the three-point line, well under his career averages.

Davis was initially acquired by the Mavericks in the shocking trade involving Luka Doncic from last season. Davis was the centerpiece of the deal for Dallas as they cited a focus on defense as the reasoning behind the trade. He appeared in a total of nine games for the Mavericks last season as the team rallied from a poor regular season to grab a play in spot.