Anthony Davis Injury Update
Anthony Davis’ status for the 2025-26 season opener is up in the air, at best. After eye surgery this summer to repair a detached retina, he’s “not fully back on the court yet,” according to NBA insider Marc Stein. It’s a phrase that seems way too familiar if you’ve followed AD’s career.
Since being traded to the Mavericks, Anthony Davis has played just nine games, according to theScore on X. His limited appearances have raised questions about his impact and availability for the team.
Anthony Davis is reportedly questionable for the season opener due to eye surgery, according to MFFL on X. His status remains uncertain as the Mavericks prepare for the start of the new season.
Stein’s info suggests Davis isn’t even guaranteed to practice when Mavs camp starts September 30, and if he misses that ramp-up, he’s at least several weeks from real game shape, meaning even the opener on October 22 is far from a lock.
Dallas traded for Davis, giving up Luka Doncic, no less, believing he could still carry a franchise.
But last season was a parade of frustrations: Davis managed just nine games for Dallas after the blockbuster deal, his stat lines impressive (20 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 4.4 APG) whenever he actually played, but always shadowed by injury absences.
This latest delay stings all the more because of who Dallas is missing; Irving’s knee, Lively’s foot, and now Davis’s battered retina mean the summer optimism is wobbling just a bit.
What Happened to Dallas Mavericks Opener Anthony Davis?
Put simply, Davis suffered a detached retina last year, a serious injury for any pro athlete but especially a big man who spends as much time in the paint as he does taking elbows to the face.
There was even a memorable sequence against the Hawks back in April, where he copped an accidental elbow from Daniel Gafford, bled, got stitches, then poured in 34 points and hit the game-winner. That’s classic AD: superhero one minute, on the shelf the next.
He tried playing through it late in the season, but the pain and risk mounted. The surgery finally happened in July.
The initial hope was a full recovery by camp, but detached retinas often require a tricky, delicate rehab, ask Amar’e Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, or any fan who’s waded through endless Google searches on the topic.
Davis’s run with Dallas has already been turbulent: abdominal and adductor injuries, limited games, and now a retina that simply refuses to cooperate.
The result? Preseason is coming, the roster is thinning, and suddenly the team’s infamous “next man up” mantra is getting tested in ways no one predicted.
When Will Anthony Davis Return?
Best guess? Even the Mavericks aren’t sure. The consensus among NBA insiders is that Anthony Davis will not be fully ready for basketball activities when training camp opens.
If he’s sidelined at camp, most projections put him at least 3–4 weeks away from actual games, a timeline that puts October 22’s opener against San Antonio in jeopardy.
There’s a sliver of optimism, thanks to the Mavericks medical team’s cautious approach and past cases of successful returns from detached retina surgery, but nothing is set in stone.
Injuries are, of course, Anthony Davis’s most notorious Achilles’ heel. Even with a strong per-game stat line last season (24.7 points, 11.6 boards, 3.5 assists, 2.2 blocks, 1.2 steals, 51.6% shooting), the larger storyline is always “Will he be healthy?, not “Will he dominate?”
If Davis doesn’t make it back for the season opener, expect rookie Cooper Flagg to see major minutes, ready or not, the Mavs’ hopes may suddenly hinge on their top pick, with P.J. Washington likely slotting into the starting lineup as a safety net.
For now, the only certainty is uncertainty: Dallas fans wait, coaches scramble, and AD’s health remains a massive “if.” And honestly, it wouldn’t be the Mavericks without a bit of preseason drama and a lingering sense of déjà vu every time Anthony Davis’s name hits the injury report.
