If your New Year’s wish was to see Anthony Davis return from injury and play for the Mavericks, you didn’t have to wait long. After missing two games with a groin injury (one of his shorter absences), Davis started against Philadelphia Thursday night, logged 36 minutes (two more than Jason Kidd said was his limit) but had only 13 points in a 123-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at the AAC.
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The fact that he was outscored by Joel Embiid is less interesting than the fact that the two of them, along with Philly’s Paul George, all played. These are three of the most frequently injured stars in the league, so give yourself credit if you attended maybe the last game in which all three will participate.
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For Davis, it was just his 17th game this season (Dallas has played 35 and lost 23). If you factor in last year when he arrived from the Lakers on Feb. 8 to face Houston and did not play again until 19 games later in Brooklyn, Davis has played in exactly 40% of the Mavs’ games since the Luka trade. The NBA currently requires its star players to participate in about 80% of their team’s games in order to be eligible for postseason awards.
I’m not sure what 40% gets you, but that’s what the Mavericks are trying to figure out.
Now if your New Year’s wish is something larger, like you’re holding out hope to see the entire band get together (that means Kyrie Irving joining the Cooper Flagg and Davis Show), don’t hold your breath. In fact, wipe it off your list.
Before the game, I managed to fire three questions about Irving in the direction of head coach Jason Kidd, and he was as forthcoming in his answers as any Cold War spy under interrogation. In order, his answers were “No,” “If there’s any update, we’ll announce it when the schedule comes out,” and “No” again. The final answer was to the question of if Kidd would be disappointed if Irving does not play before the All-Star break six weeks from now.
Kidd says nothing, but his answers say everything. The Cooper Flagg watch is — dare I say it — almost as much fun as the Luka watch his rookie season. At least it is some nights, not so much Thursday when his 12 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists were no match for South Garland’s superstar Tyrese Maxey (34-8-10) or even Baylor rookie V.J. Edgecombe (23 points and two stellar defensive stops late).
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) dribbles past the pick set by forward Anthony Davis (3) as he’s covered by Philadelphia 76ers guard Vj Edgecombe (77) during the first half at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, January 1, 2026.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
Kidd called Davis one of the best players on the planet, and he will frequently get to that elevated level when he’s able to dress. But the unknown in that equation is what perplexes the Mavericks and has the team stuck for now. They would love to trade him by the Feb. 5 deadline, even if they don’t state the desire publicly. But who’s eager to acquire a “maybe he’s in, maybe he’s out” star making $54 million this season and $58 million next year. Those are considerable cap hits, even in today’s inflated landscape.
So the Mavericks have to pay one star a monster salary to play 40% of the time. Now they seem more than willing to pay Irving his $36 million this season to do nothing but rehab in private. Putting him in games would threaten further injury and perhaps even lift the club into the play-in status that the Mavericks would prefer to avoid. At 12-23, they’re in no real danger of making the post-season, but you never know about these things. There are some bad teams in the Western Conference, and Dallas is merely one of them. The club’s first-round pick this summer might be the last lottery they will be eligible for, based on trades that empower others to claim their picks, until 2031.
So the quiet part out loud is the Mavs are much better off with another high pick, even if they aren’t likely to hit the grand slam that got them Flagg, than they are to wander into the 8 seed and get destroyed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in four games.
That leaves Mavs fans in a bit of a funk. Grateful that they don’t have to work up chants about firing the general manager any longer, but not really certain where their team is headed or if it’s even committed to doing more than roster building for the next six months.
In the meantime, Davis will occasionally look like a star and Flagg will continue to grow into one. That’s the show for now, and don’t expect any moves to be made that might help a 12-23 team become more immediately competitive.
Call it the Mavs’ version of Happy New Year.
Photos: Cooper Flagg, Mavericks fall to 76ers to start off 2026
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