Mavs receive glimmer of hope via Anthony Davis return: ‘Never thought about shutting it down’

It has been a challenging stretch for the Dallas Mavericks, who have struggled with injuries, faced limitations due to their hard cap, and seen their playoff hopes dim in the competitive Western Conference.

However, Monday’s game in Brooklyn brought a glimmer of optimism for the Mavs as Anthony Davis made his highly anticipated return from an adductor strain.

Davis, who had missed 18 consecutive games since his debut with Dallas on February 8, expressed after the Mavs’ 19-point victory over the Nets that the thought of shutting down for the season and focusing on the 2025-26 campaign never crossed his mind.

“It was tough seeing these guys battling every single night,” Davis said, via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “Winning close games, losing close games, blowing teams out, getting blown out. They are laying it on the line. For me, it was never a thought about if I was going to come back and play.

“Especially if I was healthy. We are undermanned. Guys are hurt. (Daniel Gafford), (Dereck Lively), (Kyrie Irving) goes out. It was tough. Guys were leaving it on the floor. Guys laying on the floor in the locker room afterward just gassed — to the point of exhaustion.”

Davis added, “There was no doubt I was going to come back and play. That makes you want to come out and play with these guys. Leave it on the floor and battle each and every night. As one of the leaders of the team, I just wanted to go out there and give them a breather at least.”

Though Davis confirmed a minutes restriction for the time being, his return was a welcome sign for the Mavericks, who still had only 10 healthy players available for the game. One of those players, guard Brandon Williams, is limited to three more games on his two-way contract.

Despite ongoing injury concerns, Davis played 27 minutes in his return without any setbacks, providing a boost to a Mavs team that remains in contention for a play-in spot, currently one of three teams separated by just half a game in the West.

“It was a positive experience,” said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. “We tried to keep his run short. We tried to keep him under his minutes, and I thought he did an incredible job. I thought his rhythm was good. Sometimes when you get a player back like AD, you want to dump the ball to him every time. I thought the guys did a good job of being aggressive and letting the ball find him.”

Even if the Mavericks secure a play-in spot, they would likely need to win two play-in games to earn the No. 8 seed, which would pit them against a formidable Oklahoma City Thunder team in the first round. As such, a deep playoff run remains an unlikely prospect, especially without Irving, whose ACL tear Davis described as “devastating.”

While the championship aspirations Dallas had when acquiring Davis last month may no longer be realistic for this season, the 32-year-old veteran remains committed to returning to the court as soon as possible.

“I stressed that to them,” Davis said. “Once I’m 100 percent, whenever that time was, and we have games left, I’m going to play. We all huddled up and got on the same page. Went through the rehab process and was able to play (Monday). There was never a moment in my mind — unless we ran out of games — that I wasn’t going to play.”

Davis noted the extra motivation that came from seeing his teammates give everything on the floor despite the team’s thin roster.

“Seeing these guys playing with seven guys,” he said. “Guys playing 38, 40 minutes. We just don’t have enough bodies. Kessler Edwards is playing the five. Naji (Marshall) is playing the five. Added a little bit more motivation for me. I was already motivated to get back. But it added a little bit more motivation seeing those guys battle each and every night.”