Anthony Davis has endured a rough NBA stretch, with setbacks stacking up after his move from Los Angeles to Dallas last February. Injuries kept following him. Abdominal strains, Achilles soreness, and whatnot. But the hardest blow came on January 8 against Utah, when he suffered serious ligament damage in his left hand. Since then, AD hasn’t been on the floor, sitting courtside with caution, and it’s solely because of his doctor.
“It’s getting a lot better. You know, it was a tough injury. I was talking to the doctors, and it’s a patience thing. We use our hands for basketball, obviously. I don’t want to re-injure. This hand. It was a complicated injury. The doctor actually told me that,” the 33-year-old big man told ABC News.
“Now I’m healing and getting to a place where he’s comfortable for me to get back on the floor and doing contact and everything. He was nervous because he had never seen anything like that before,” he added. “Because some of the ligaments that are torn are pretty thick. But I’m getting there. progressing each and every day and can’t wait to get back on the floor.”
On January 8, Anthony Davis saw his night take a painful turn during a narrow 116-114 Dallas Mavericks loss to the Utah Jazz. Late in the fourth quarter, while locking up Lauri Markkanen, his left hand got awkwardly tangled with the ball handler’s arm on a drive. As a result, the play led to serious ligament damage, forcing Davis off the floor and adding another brutal chapter to his injury struggles.
Interestingly, Jalen Williams played through a torn scapholunate ligament in his right shooting wrist during the 2025 NBA playoffs. Despite the injury, he featured in all 23 postseason games. Moreover, he played a key role as the Oklahoma City Thunder secured their first NBA title. But Anthony Davis seemingly didn’t take risks that way.
Initially, experts believed that AD would require surgery to recover from the injury. That would mean his 2025-26 would’ve come to an end after 20 appearances. However, later in January, he met with the physicians, and after a medical evaluation, they confirmed that the 10-time All-Star won’t require any procedure. But in the end, he was shut down for the rest of the regular season.
The Washington Wizards were cautious about Anthony Davis’ condition
Since the medical experts had predicted a 6-week timeline for Davis’ recovery, everyone was hopeful that he would show up on the floor for the Washington Wizards after the trade. But that didn’t happen. Some time in March, AD met with Dr. Steven Shin at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. And the reports that followed gave cautious optimism.
“It was determined that Davis’ recovery continues to progress positively. But the volar plate tissue in his left hand has not yet fully healed,” the reports said. They revealed that AD would continue with conservative treatment and later advance his basketball activity. In fact, the reports claimed that the medical team would reevaluate the star at the end of the month.
Back in March 2026, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported that Anthony Davis and the Washington Wizards still hoped for a return to the regular season. He had not played a single game since arriving at the February trade deadline, and doubts kept swirling around his timeline. Earlier whispers even suggested the 33-year-old might sit out the entire year due to injury concerns.
However, Wizards’ GM Will Dawkins offered a more optimistic view, pointing to a possible comeback before April 12. That door stayed slightly open. Even so, Washington chose caution over speed. The focus shifted to long-term durability, not quick fixes. Eventually, the season closed with a brutal 17- 65 record, the worst in the league, making patience feel like the only sensible call.
Anthony Davis’ reality is simple, his body forced the pause. Injuries kept piling up, and then the hand setback sealed his season. Meanwhile, others pushed through pain, but he chose caution. As a result, recovery took priority over return as his doctor shared his fears. Now, all that remains is patience as he works his way back, step by step.
