This post was originally published on this site.
Dallas Mavericks veteran Anthony Davis’ injury-plagued season has hit another speed bump as he will now be sidelined after leaving Thursday night’s game against the Utah Jazz due to a hand injury.
The Mavericks announced that Davis sustained ligament damage:
According to Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Davis could potentially need surgery:
On Thursday night, head coach Jason Kidd told reporters after the Mavs’ 116-114 loss that all he knows right now is Davis did something to his left hand.
NBA insider Marc Stein previously reported that Davis was scheduled to undergo imaging on Friday to determine the severity of the injury.
Davis said after the game he felt good enough to go back into the game, but the Mavericks opted against risking him further aggravating the issue.
The injury comes as the Mavs try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive after a rough start to the year, as well as decide whether or not to try to move Davis prior to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps, the Mavs and Atlanta Hawks are not currently having active discussions about a Davis trade after previously engaging in talks, but it could be “something to monitor over the next month.”
The report also notes that Atlanta isn’t necessarily in a hurry to make a deal for Davis given its current young core and a likely lottery pick in the 2026 draft with swap rights for the best pick from either the Milwaukee Bucks or New Orleans Pelicans.
One executive from an Eastern Conference team explained to Windhorst and Bontemps that the Mavs might be better off right now to just keep Davis for the rest of this season.
“I don’t understand why they wouldn’t just keep him,” the executive said. “Just let things play out, get to the summer time when it’s easier to make this kind of move anyway, and see where things stand.”
An Eastern Conference scout said in the report that Mavs’ management would also like to get an extended look at what their team looks like with Davis and Cooper Flagg on the floor together, especially since Davis’ value may not be high at the moment.
“[Dallas] ownership wants to see those guys play together before they do anything, and until they do that I don’t think they’ll rush into doing anything. … I’m not optimistic it’s anywhere close to where they hope his value is,” the scout explained.
Dallas is currently in 11th place in the Western Conference at 14-24, and having Davis off the floor will only make things more difficult.
Davis is putting up 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game across 20 contests this season.
Unfortunately for Davis, his time with the Mavericks so far has been marred with injury. After being dealt to Dallas last February, he played just nine games because of a left adductor strain and an eye injury.
Davis then missed 16 of the Mavs’ first 31 games to start the 2025-26 campaign because of a left calf strain. He dealt with a right groin injury in late December, but luckily, that injury kept him off the court for just two games.
With Davis injured, the Mavericks will presumably turn to Daniel Gafford to fill in at the starting center position. Though Gafford is a solid replacement, Davis’ absence will surely be felt on both ends of the floor.