Apr 5, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) looks on during the National Anthem before the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Latest Anthony Davis injury update should terrify Mavericks fans

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Sep 11, 2025 2:10 PM ET

Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis had a procedure done over the offseason to repair a detached retina, but the hope was that he would be back in time for training camp and the start of the regular season. However, that appears to be in jeopardy.

NBA insider Marc Stein provided an update on Davis, saying he's likely to miss at least part of training camp.

"Based on everything I'm told, he's not fully back on the court yet, he can't be fully back on the court yet," Stein said. "When practices start on September 30th, will AD even be ready for practice at that point? We don't know that yet, so it's not just the potential of starting the season without Kyrie [Irving], is AD gonna be ready to go on opening night against San Antonio? October 22nd ain't that far away."

Mavericks training camp is less than 3 weeks away with the season just around the corner…

Will Anthony Davis, who is recovering from eye surgery, be ready when camp opens and the season begins?

Check out what Marc Stein had to say about AD’s status on today’s show #MFFL pic.twitter.com/8jPO4XOvNb
— DLLS Mavs (@DLLS_Mavs) September 11, 2025

The biggest concern among many for trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis is Davis' lack of availability. He's played more than 65 games just once in the last seven seasons, while Doncic has played at least 60 games every year of his career before last season.

Those concerns were only heightened when Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in March, meaning Davis would have to lead the Mavs until Irving returns. But if Davis isn't ready for the start of camp either, are they really going to rely on rookie Cooper Flagg to lead the way?

How Anthony Davis Missing Time Could Quietly Be a Good Thing

There is a portion of the fanbase who believes that the team would be better off trading Anthony Davis, stockpiling assets from it, and building around the timeline of Flagg and Dereck Lively II. If Davis does miss some time, that will provide the team a chance to see if that is a sustainable option.

This was a roster perfectly constructed for Luka Doncic, and putting Anthony Davis in place of his makes this roster weird. Cooper Flagg and P.J. Washington will be playing out of position for most of the season because Davis is insistent on playing power forward instead of center, which is where he'd be better suited.

If the offense is free-flowing while Davis is out, and then it stagnates when Davis returns, the Mavs will have a decision to make.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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