Anthony Davis Injury: All About The Left Adductor Strain and Timeline For Mavs Star’s Return

Prateek Singh | 10/02/2025
Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) leaves the game against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at the American Airlines Center.

Anthony Davis’ Mavs debut lived up to the expectations until the third quarter. AD had 26 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists in 31 minutes. Then he went down with a non-contact injury. The Mavs fans knew about AD’s troubled history with injuries, but no one thought this would happen in his first game.

AD left the floor with tightness around his groin. As per the Mavs, he is out due to a left adductor strain. ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported about this injury on X. Citing his sources, he wrote, “Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis is expected to miss multiple weeks with a left adductor strain… His absence could stretch to a month.”

Now what is a left adductor strain? And what impact could it have on his season?

AD’s injury is on the adductor muscles, which are located on the inner thigh on the left side of the body. The adductor muscles help in the inward movement of the leg and hip and help stabilize the trunk. The news of his injury was soon picked up by more qualified people to talk about injuries, the doctors.

As per Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT, who is a physical therapist and NBA injury expert, AD’s injury could potentially lead to a sports hernia. He said that only two weeks ago Davis was reeling from an abdominal injury and still decided to make a return to the floor. Injury analyst for SMART, Jeff Stotts believes that the weeks-long absence is a bad sign.

He wrote, “The adductor muscles are more commonly known as the groin. A multi-week absence suggests a more moderate strain.” He also talked about AD’s long history with left adductor strains. The adductor muscle is prone to being reinjured due to the lack of ample blood flow in the area. The same issue was further explained by Jesse Morse, M.D.

He said that AD likely has a grade 1 groin strain, but it can potentially be termed as grade 2. He wrote, “The adductor muscle/tendon is notorious for slow healing due to poor blood supply. Therefore it is very commonly reinjured.” He said it will at least take two weeks to heal, before agreeing to Charania’s report that AD will likely be out for a month.

AD has had adductor strains in the past as well, the most recent one being in 2021. The Mavs medical team believes that he might have to undergo surgery if the symptoms don’t go away soon. In that case, it will be the end of the season for Davis. Even if he avoids getting surgery and misses a month of action, that’ll make a huge impact on the Mavs’ season.

They have already lost Luka Doncic. Kyrie Irving has had recent issues with shoulder soreness and is looking out of touch lately. In the last game against the Rockets, he could only manage 13 points in 42 minutes.

So Dallas could face serious issues moving forward this season.

Post Edited By: Dhruv Rupani
Anthony Davis

About the author

Avatar photo

Prateek Singh

Prateek is a Senior NBA Writer for The SportsRush. He has over 900 published articles under his name. Prateek merged his passion for writing and his love for the sport of basketball to make a career out of it. Other than basketball, he is also an ardent follower of the UFC and soccer. Apart from the world of sports, he has followed hip-hop religiously and often writes about the origins, evolution, and the biggest stars of the music genre.

Don’t miss these