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NBA Insider Says Anthony Davis May Sit Rest of Season After Kyrie Irving Injury

Things keep getting worse for the Mavericks.

Kyle Koster

Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis laughs during a timeout against the Charlotte Hornets during the first half at American Airlines Center.
Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis laughs during a timeout against the Charlotte Hornets during the first half at American Airlines Center. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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Things have not been going very well for the Dallas Mavericks since the organization decided to deal Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in return for Anthony Davis. Mavs fans were understandably frustrated by general manager Nico Harrison sending a generational player—perhaps an all-time great—out of town during his prime years. Davis getting hurt in his first game with the franchise made things immediately worse.

Currently holding on tight to the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference, Dallas lost Kyrie Irving to a season-ending injury on Monday night, which will make any path to the play-In tournament that much harder.

To make matters even more complicated, Davis must now decided what he wants to do while returning from injury in the wake of the Irving news.

Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, ESPN insider Shams Charania said of Davis: "I think him, his representatives are going to huddle up. I think they're going to have some very hard conversations. It's not out of the realm of possibility that one game was the last time we've seen AD this season."

It would be perfectly understandable if Davis, with his injury history, opted to play it safe instead of laying it all on the line just so the Mavs could have a chance to play their way into the playoffs with no realistic chance of winning a title.

Still, the string of bad luck that's befallen Dallas on the heels of the monumental deal is pretty shocking.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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