He's back. Davis returns to the Lakers' arena for the first time, aiming to reignite a struggling Mavericks squad after a month on the sideline.
LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis is finally set to rejoin the Dallas Mavericks, choosing a return stage that carries as much emotion as basketball meaning.
The eight-time All-Star plans to play Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, marking his first appearance in his former home arena since the franchise-shifting February trade that sent him to Dallas in exchange for Luka Dončić. Davis has missed the past month with a calf strain, sidelined since Oct. 29, and his absence has hung heavily over a Mavericks season defined by injuries, close losses and organizational change.
Dallas is 3–11 without him and 4–11 in clutch games overall, a trend Davis admitted has been difficult to watch from the sideline.
In practice Wednesday, Jason Kidd said the forward/center looked sharp in his first full session back.
“He did a really good job,” Kidd said, offering the kind of measured optimism that has followed each step of Davis’ recovery. “Hopefully we can see how he feels tomorrow, and then we’ll make that decision if it’s LA or the Clippers.”
The decision was made soon after: Davis will face the Lakers on Friday, sit out Saturday’s game against the Clippers, and is expected to be available again Monday in Denver.
Davis’ path back has been shaped not only by medical caution, but also by high-level intervention. He initially targeted a Nov. 8 return in Washington before Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont delayed the timeline after guidance from health and performance director Johann Bilsborough, who wanted medical data confirming no risk of re-aggravation.
Davis acknowledged the frustration of being held out, while still expressing trust in that process.
In discussing the back-and-forth behind the scenes, he provided a fuller window into the past month.
“It’s always frustrating when you’re sitting out,” Davis said. “Our job is to play games, and I want to play. But I’m listening to the medical staff and front office and trying to be smart with the situation. It is what it is.”
He followed that with a quieter acknowledgment of relief.
“The time is now,” he said. “I’m a step closer to getting back on the floor, hopefully this weekend.”
Even as Dallas worked to bring him back safely, Davis’ return comes at a turbulent moment. Seventeen days have passed since the surprise firing of general manager Nico Harrison — the executive who brought him to Dallas and shaped the post-Dončić era around him.
The timing wasn’t lost on Davis, who took time to reflect on the front-office shift.
“It was surprising to all of us,” he said. “Nico’s my guy. He played a huge part in getting me here. It was definitely tough. Me and him had a conversation. Me and Patrick had a conversation. It’s the business of basketball.”
But with the season pushing forward, Davis said his focus stayed intact.
“After those conversations I was able to move forward and continue to rehab, get back on the floor, and try to compete,” he said.
His return also coincides with league-wide expectation that Dallas will explore trade conversations involving him before the February deadline — a possibility he dismissed with comfort earned through experience.
In explaining his mindset, Davis leaned into familiarity rather than uncertainty.
“Man, don’t make it like we going to war or something,” he said. “This is basketball and this comes with it. Everybody in their career has been involved in trade talks or been traded. That doesn’t affect me.”
He added that communication with Dallas’ leadership remains open.
“My job is to do what I do when I’m on the floor — play basketball, try to lead this team — and whatever comes out of that comes out of that,” he said. “I’m just ready to get back on the floor.”
For the Mavericks, the return could not come at a more necessary time. They have struggled without their interior anchor, lacking the rebounding, scoring and defensive presence Kidd emphasized as core gaps in his absence.
“Rebounding, scoring and his leadership,” Kidd said. “Those are three big areas that we need, especially with a lot of these games being close.”
Those late-game situations, Davis said, are especially where he feels his absence most.
“It gets even more frustrating when I’m not able to go out there,” he said. “Hopefully this weekend I can get out there and we can start winning some of these clutch games.”
Davis has averaged 20.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in five games this season. The Mavericks expect his presence — even on a measured return plan — to provide an immediate stabilizing force as they try to recover from a difficult start.
For now, the long-awaited moment arrives in Los Angeles, against the team he won a championship with in 2020 and the fan base that once embraced him as a franchise cornerstone.
“You know what game I want to play,” Davis said earlier in the week.
On Friday night, he gets it.