Mavericks' star gets honest about ankle injury

The Dallas Mavericks are dealing with a brutal stretch of injuries that has forced a handful of key players out of the lineup. The frontcourt has taken the biggest hit with Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, and Derek Lively II all on the mend. Davis went down in his debut with the franchise and Gafford was injured shortly thereafter.

The injury woes got even worse when starting forward P.J. Washington exited in the second half of Dallas' 132-117 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night with what the team deemed as right ankle soreness.

Washington has been dealing with a sprained right ankle since early February. At the time, he missed three games before returning on February 21 with a 24-point performance in a 111-103 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

With that being said, continued soreness forced him out of the matchup against the Charlotte Hornets leading up to reaggravating the injury against Milwaukee. Now, Washington is set to miss Monday night's game versus the Sacramento Kings, and potentially longer.

Mavericks' star P.J. Washington gets honest about ongoing ankle injury

Washington shared his thoughts on the frustrating ailment at shootaround on Sunday. He feels like he probably returned to the court too quickly after the initial injury a few weeks ago. At the same time, Washington is confident that he'll get back to his old self in the near future.

"It probably was too early but I feel like I'll get better," Washington said to The Dallas Morning News's Mike Curtis. "I'm not really worried about it at all. Just gotta get it re-evaluted and go from there."

Asked PJ Washington if he felt like he came back from his ankle sprain too early:

“It probably was too early, but I feel like I’ll get better. I’m not really worried about it at all. Just gotta get it re-evaluated and go from there.”
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) March 3, 2025

It would be massive for the Mavericks if Washington could return to action sooner rather than later. The current lack of size has been tough to overcome during the final stretch of the regular season. Dallas was outrebounded 52-33 by the Bucks over the weekend.

Statistically, Washington is having arguably the most impressive individual season of his six years at the professional level. In 47 appearances, he's averaged 14.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks over 32.2 minutes per game. Washington's efficiency from two-point range has dipped but he's shooting 37.4% from distance.

As the number of games remaining continues to dwindle, the Mavericks have to get their act together quickly to have any chance at making another postseason run.

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