Shortly before halftime in the Dallas Mavericks’ matchup with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, Mavs forward PJ Washington exited the floor and disappeared into the Dallas locker room.

Adding to the heaping list of Mavericks’ injury woes, Washington was diagnosed with a left shoulder strain. Per Mavericks PR, he won’t return to action against the Suns.

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Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) and center Daniel Gafford (21), wait to check...

PJ Washington hasn’t played since the 6:35 mark of the first quarter. I saw him grimace when he checked out of the game, but I’m not exactly sure what happened. He was grabbing the left side of his chest/shoulder area before he went to the locker room.

— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) November 13, 2025

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The Mavericks are already down several players, including stars Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.

Washington, who not only provides a spark to this Dallas lineup but also has been tasked with providing a good bit of the scoring in 2025 as well, would be another ding to the Mavericks front court should he have to miss time. The Mavs are also without center Dereck Lively II, and center Daniel Gafford has also been banged up in the early going of the season as well.

With the Mavericks fresh off their dismissal of Nico Harrison and looking forward to a return to normalcy in their upcoming slate of games, it seems instead the team could be down another important piece for an unknown amount of time.

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