Anthony Davis’ future uncertain following hand injury

Around 14 months ago, Anthony Davis was atop the league. 

He was the leading candidate for the MVP Award. He led the Los Angeles Lakers to No. 2 in the Western Conference. LeBron James was calling the purple and gold Davis‘ team. 

But ever since Davis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in Feb. 2025, he has been on a downward spiral. He has suffered a series of injuries, including most recently sustaining ligament damage in his left hand amid a push to get a maximum contract extension with Dallas — or elsewhere — ahead of the 2026 trade deadline.

According to ESPN, Davis is likely going to require surgery, which means he’ll be sidelined several months. Davis, however, pushed back on that report Tuesday, tweeting, “Yall better stop listening to all these lies on these apps!”

Regardless, over the last year everything has changed for the big man, who would need another general manager with Nico Harrison-level faith in him to get him the deal he seeks — and was on pace to get — before a disastrous string of injuries has led to him only playing in 29 games for the Mavericks. 

The Mavericks are still reportedly having active trade talks about Davis, with the hope that he could return during the playoffs and be a difference maker for an organization going forward.  

Before Davis’ hand injury, several teams were interested in trading for the star, with Atlanta and Toronto at the front of the line. Acquiring Davis would no longer make sense for teams with veteran-laden rosters and win-now timelines, such as Golden State and the Clippers, who were long shots to acquire him anyway.

As for Dallas, one of the main impetuses for trading Davis before he suffered the injury was to lose games so they could better position themselves for the 2026 NBA Draft, especially considering the Mavericks don’t control their own first-round picks between 2027 and 2030. 

Dallas’ priority is building around their No. 1 overall draft pick in 2025, Cooper Flagg, who has lived up to the hype. 

Now, regardless of what the Mavericks choose to do ahead of the trade deadline, they won’t have the “problem” of Davis winning them games and hurting their draft standing. 

While the Mavericks are clearly exploring their options, they have expressed interest in seeing what a roster with a healthy Davis, Kyrie Irving (torn ACL) and Flagg could look like next season.  

Davis, who’s making $54.1 million this season and a guaranteed $58.5 million next season, is a 10-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selectee, five-time All-Defensive Team and has led the league in blocks three times.