Mavericks owners have heavy role in Anthony Davis' injury status, per NBA insider

Anthony Davis wants to play basketball. The Dallas Mavericks don't want to risk further injury. And thus, we have entered a circle that may never end.

Davis went down in the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers on October 29th with a low-grade calf strain, which likely stemmed from the bilateral Achilles tendinopathy that he popped up on the injury report with prior to that game. They initially announced that he'd miss 1-2 games before being re-evaluated, and now he's missed five games. If it were up to Davis, he'd already be playing, but there are other forces at play.

According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, team governor Patrick Dumont has been weighing in on whether or not Davis should be playing.

Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective said that Anthony Davis wanted to play Saturday vs. Washington, however there were “internal disagreements” on whether he should, due to many opinions. He ultimately did not play.

One of the opinions was from Patrick Dumont. pic.twitter.com/vDdItbOk30
— Mavs Film Room 🐴🎥 (@MavsFilmRoom) November 10, 2025

“Anthony Davis wanted to play Saturday in Washington… There was internal disagreement about whether that was a good idea," MacMahon said. "One of the opinions that was involved here was Patrick Dumont. Patrick Dumont went from blind faith in Nico to weighing in on whether a star can come back from injury.”

The injury history behind Davis just since he got to the Mavs is a big reason why it's important that Dumont is weighing in on these decisions. Davis returned too early from an abdominal injury after the trade, which caused him to strain his adductor two and a half quarters into his debut. He then likely returned too soon from that injury, and was really hobbling at the end of the 2024-25 season and into the Play-In tournament.

Davis followed that up by showing into the 2025-26 season out of shape, which was mostly caused by him having a procedure this offseason to repair a detached retina that kept him from working out for a specific amount of time. And him not being in shape likely led to his current calf strain, which is nothing to play around with. We've seen a lot of calf strains lead to Achilles tears, and that's the last thing this team needs.

Is Anthony Davis Playing Against the Milwaukee Bucks?

The Dallas Mavericks will face off against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night, which if Davis is not 100% for, could be a really tough matchup. Giannis is playing at an MVP level and is one of the toughest matchups in the NBA.

Davis entered the matchup as "questionable" with his left calf strain, but the Mavericks have since announced that he won't be available on Monday night. This will be his sixth straight missed game.

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2025-26 season

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter

More Dallas Mavericks News

Mavericks' Cooper Flagg joins Kobe Bryant for impressive feat in NBA history

NBA insider answers if Nico Harrison’s job is in jeopardy with Mavericks

Cooper Flagg drops depressing quote after Mavericks drop to 2-6 with loss to Pelicans

Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison should be embarrassed