Is Anthony Davis playing tonight vs. Lakers? Mavericks star set to make season debut
Is Anthony Davis playing tonight vs. Lakers? Mavericks star set to make season debut
The question looming over the Dallas Mavericks’ tumultuous start to the 2025-26 campaign has finally been answered. After missing the first month of the season, superstar forward Anthony Davis is expected to make his highly anticipated season debut tonight against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Sources confirm that Davis, who has been sidelined since training camp with a lingering calf strain, participated in shootaround this morning and has been upgraded to available. His return comes at a critical juncture for Dallas. The Mavericks have stumbled out of the gate to a 5-15 record, struggling to find an identity in the wake of the blockbuster trade deadline deal last February that sent Davis to Dallas and Luka Dončić to Los Angeles.
Tonight’s matchup carries immense narrative weight. It marks the first time Davis will face the Lakers while wearing a Mavericks uniform, and he does so against a Los Angeles squad that has been revitalized by the arrival of Dončić. While the Lakers have surged behind the pairing of Dončić and Austin Reaves, Dallas has been in a tailspin, recently parting ways with general manager Nico Harrison and pivoting toward a rebuild around rookie sensation Cooper Flagg.
For the Mavericks, Davis’s return is less about immediate title contention and more about stabilizing a franchise in transition. Head coach Jason Kidd has indicated that Davis will likely be on a minutes restriction tonight as he works his way back into game shape. "We want to be smart," Kidd told reporters. "AD is a game-changer, but we need him healthy for the long haul to help mentor Cooper and establish our defensive culture."
The atmosphere at the arena is expected to be electric. All eyes will be on the interactions between Davis and his former teammates, as well as the duel between the two superstars traded for one another. For Dallas fans, tonight offers the first real glimpse of what the Anthony Davis era—however temporary the rumors suggest it might be—actually looks like.
The question looming over the Dallas Mavericks’ tumultuous start to the 2025-26 campaign has finally been answered. After missing the first month of the season, superstar forward Anthony Davis is expected to make his highly anticipated season debut tonight against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Sources confirm that Davis, who has been sidelined since training camp with a lingering calf strain, participated in shootaround this morning and has been upgraded to available. His return comes at a critical juncture for Dallas. The Mavericks have stumbled out of the gate to a 5-15 record, struggling to find an identity in the wake of the blockbuster trade deadline deal last February that sent Davis to Dallas and Luka Dončić to Los Angeles.
Tonight’s matchup carries immense narrative weight. It marks the first time Davis will face the Lakers while wearing a Mavericks uniform, and he does so against a Los Angeles squad that has been revitalized by the arrival of Dončić. While the Lakers have surged behind the pairing of Dončić and Austin Reaves, Dallas has been in a tailspin, recently parting ways with general manager Nico Harrison and pivoting toward a rebuild around rookie sensation Cooper Flagg.
For the Mavericks, Davis’s return is less about immediate title contention and more about stabilizing a franchise in transition. Head coach Jason Kidd has indicated that Davis will likely be on a minutes restriction tonight as he works his way back into game shape. "We want to be smart," Kidd told reporters. "AD is a game-changer, but we need him healthy for the long haul to help mentor Cooper and establish our defensive culture."
The atmosphere at the arena is expected to be electric. All eyes will be on the interactions between Davis and his former teammates, as well as the duel between the two superstars traded for one another. For Dallas fans, tonight offers the first real glimpse of what the Anthony Davis era—however temporary the rumors suggest it might be—actually looks like.
