Anthony Davis’ 2024/25 season was a mixed bag of sorts. The 10-time All-Star was far from his best, whether due to a change in environment or lingering injuries. Now, heading into this season, Davis will be determined to return to peak form.
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Davis was comfortable in Los Angeles, repping the Lakers alongside LeBron James. Then, in February, the Dallas Mavericks sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for Davis, and his season took a turn for the worse. Just 31 minutes into his debut for the Mavs, he picked up an injury that would sideline him for the majority of the remainder of the season.
At that point, Kyrie Irving had also gone down with a torn ACL. The Mavs did manage to muscle their way to a Play-In spot, but they were manhandled pretty easily by the Memphis Grizzlies. Still, the 2025-2026 season is right around the corner, and AD will now be coming into the season with something to prove. At least, that is what Kendrick Perkins thinks.
Perkins hyped up the future Hall of Famer on the latest edition of his Road Trippin podcast and suggested that people stop sleeping on the big man. “People are sleeping on Anthony Marshawn Davis Jr.,” he said, before name-dropping New York Knicks superstar KAT as another man who plans to come out hot next season. “It’s between Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns for the two players that have the most to prove this season.”
The former Oklahoma City Thunder man then stated that Davis’ motivation to improve would stem from the fact that he has replaced Doncic. “AD was traded for an international superstar. Anthony Davis is going to be on a mission. Dallas traded away their young international superstar for Anthony Davis, a two-way player, and the passion and what I been seeing out of Anthony Davis before the season ended.”
“People better watch the **** out for AD,” Perkins added. It was a passionate promo from Perk, almost as if he were trying to sell tickets to a wrestling match between Davis and Doncic. Unfortunately, this isn’t the WWE, and Davis and The Don won’t be scrapping. That said, it’s pretty clear that AD will be looking to send a message, both to the Lakers organization and to his naysayers, about the kind of weapon he can still be on the hardwood.
There’s no doubt that with their new franchise plan, the Mavericks will be a much stronger competitor in the West than they were last year. The problem is that the West remains stacked. The Houston Rockets finished No. 2 last year, and now they have Kevin Durant. The dominant Thunder will look the same but will be aiming for back-to-back titles.
Then you have the Wolves, Nuggets, Clippers, Lakers, and the Warriors, who can never be counted out as long as Steph Curry is on the team. Can the Mavs hang? Potentially. But if they were in the East, they could make a splash. As great as AD could play, there’s an even stronger chance his greatness gets swallowed up in a very tough conference.
