Anthony Davis In Line to Become Foundational Piece for Wizards

A busy week for the Washington Wizards hit on nearly every major storyline this offseason. With Trae Young making his player-option decision official, Alex Sarr sidelined for likely the duration of the offseason due to foot surgery and back-and-forth talk about what the top two picks in the 2026 NBA Draft will materialize into ahead of the first round on Tuesday, several of the key offseason questions are close to getting final answers.

That could also extend to Anthony Davis as well, who has been transparent about his interest in playing for a championship contender at this stage in his career which, at times, has cast doubt whether the Washington Wizards are truly part of his plans. While former Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas is among the several who claimed he would never play for the Wizards, Davis previously admitted he bought into the skepticism around the organization's commitment to winning prior to arriving. Yet that tune steadily changed after Davis sat down with general manager Will Dawkins, president Michael Winger and the rest of the Wizards' leadership.

As Davis enters year two of his $175.3 million contract, that also includes a looming player-option deadline ahead of the 2027-28, though he will also become eligible to sign another max extension beginning on August 6. Whether that comes to fruition once the window opens, during the season or ultimately next summer remains another question, yet the first step has been keeping the ten-time All Star as a foundational piece of the 2026-27 roster. The signs may still be pointing that way, too.

Winger admitted that Davis has "communicated to [the Wizards] a strong interest in being part of what we're building" in an interview with JP Finlay of NBC4, while Ashish Mathus of Dallas Roundtable also reiterated the Wizards have been informed by Davis that he has strong interest in remaining with the organization.

Davis will also look to arrive in Washington with hopes of shedding possible injury concerns after playing in just 71 of the 162 regular season games since the start of the 2024-25 regular season, including 45 of the 131 games since being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers. With the Wizards eyeing a resolution for Young, who also recently expressed interest in staying with the organization for a "long time" even if it materializes into a "very large" extension, the building blocks that fans have began clinging to could soon fall into place.

Will the dominos officially fall before - or on the same day - the Wizards make the long-awaited selection with the top overall pick? Time will tell if that materializes, but the Wizards could have two feet in from the former NBA champion to provide a short-term boost in the frontcourt.

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