The Washington Wizards landed the first overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and for Anthony Davis, that could mean he'll be hit with some déjà vu.
Anthony Davis' 29-game tenure with the Dallas Mavericks might have been mostly forgettable, but he will forever be linked with the franchise as the centerpiece of the Luka Doncic trade. Just one year after he arrived in Dallas, the Mavs shipped him off to the Washington Wizards for pennies on the dollar.
The Wizards did not allow their new-look veteran core of Trae Young or Davis to play a single minute in the capital this season, and their tanking effort paid off. On Sunday, the Wizards won the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. The Mavericks, meanwhile, fell to ninth.
With a possible core of Davis, Young, Alexandre Sarr, Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, and Tre Johnson, plus the top pick, the Wizards should be able to at least make some noise in the East next season. However, there is a strong chance that Davis never suits up for his fourth team.
Davis Delivered Draft Déjà Vu
In 2019, Davis wrapped up his seventh and final season with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans had just won the draft lottery and the rights to Zion Williamson, but Davis wanted to play with a win-now team, and he joined LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
While Davis hasn't yet demanded a trade from Washington, he's made it clear that he doesn't have much faith in his new team.
"We are a very bad basketball team for sure," Davis said in an April interview, not sounding excited about the prospect of playing for the Wizards.
This would be the second time Davis has been traded from a team with the first overall pick. In 2020, the Lakers won the NBA title right after adding him. Maybe another team can hope for similar results, although he's on the back half of his career and has a long injury history.
Of course, the Wizards could see how a starting core of Davis, Young, and the top pick gels with their current young roster. With the East clearly the weaker conference, Washington might finally be ready to return to relevancy.
Or Davis could make things tough and ask out. We've seen it happen before.