Anthony Davis slams current state of college basketball

The Mavericks star and former national champion doesn't think college basketball is in a good place.

Apr 5, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) looks on during the second half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis is one of the greatest college basketball players in recent memory, being one of just four freshmen to ever win the Wooden National Player of the Year Award (Cooper Flagg, a likely soon-to-be Maverick, is also on that list). He led Kentucky to its most recent national championship in 2012, averaging 14.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG, and a ridiculous 4.7 BPG.

Had Davis played in today's era, he would've made a killing off of the new Name, Image, and Likeness that is flooding college athletics. Instead, he used that elite freshman season to go first overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, going to the New Orleans Hornets.

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Apr 18, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) dribbles during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Davis recently sat down with Sports Illustrated's Patrick Andres to discuss NIL and its impact on college basketball.

"It's tough, because obviously they didn't have that when I was in college," Davis said. "It kinda takes away from the game a little bit because of—and I'm not hating—it takes away from the integrity in the sense of players are only going to certain schools because of the money.

"College basketball is still competitive, but the recruitment of it has kinda gotten a little wacky, especially when player can leave and enter the (transfer) portal and go anywhere. It just gets a little tricky," Davis continued. "The coaches either a) have to be more strategic with their recruiting, or b) if you don't have a lot of money for NIL, that kind of takes away your school, your program, as far as being a top recruiter for some of these players.

"Because one guy can leave the next year, transfer—it gets tough, when you start talking about culture. That kind of goes out the window, in my opinion."

His concerns echo those of a lot of people around college basketball. It's hard for coaches to maintain a culture and for fans to become attached to players. NIL in a vacuum is a good thing, as players deserve to be paid for the contributions they bring to a school; however, it's the Wild West since there are no regulations governing it.

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