The Dallas Mavericks received a knockout punch this season when their big man, Anthony Davis, suffered ligament damage to his hand in the Denver Nuggets’ recent defeat to the Utah Jazz. AD had minimal contact while defending Lauri Markannen. This injury has completely spoiled the Mavericks’ plan of trading him, as he is expected to remain on the sidelines for months. Amidst such news, a recent rumor of Anthony Davis retiring has gone viral across the NBA fraternity.

Davis has featured in 29 games this season, and whenever he is healthy, he is one of the most dominant players in the league. However, recent injuries and availability issues have significantly reduced his value. His injury has also disrupted the Mavericks’ season. Therefore, the 32-year-old has received a lot of criticism online, including rapper Freddie Gibbs, who wants Anthony Davis to retire, and funnily enough, he isn’t even a Mavericks fan.

How did the Anthony Davis retirement rumor start?

The viral claim that Anthony Davis would announce his retirement following the ligament injury originated from the popular parody account NBA Centel. They are known for posting fake and viral content imitating the famous fan-favourite NBA Central page. Therefore, fans often mistake their page for the real thing.

“BREAKING: Anthony Davis has informed the Mavericks he plans to retire from the NBA,” the NBA Centel post was captioned. It garnered a lot of attention, like any other rumor around any NBA superstar.

Has Anthony Davis made any such announcement regarding his career?

Anthony Davis has been one of the best players in the league when he is healthy. He was at his best when he paired up with LeBron James at the Los Angeles Lakers and led them to the title in the 2019-20 season. However, since then, he has been extremely unlucky with multiple muscle injuries.

He was involved in a blockbuster trade for Luka Doncic as the former Dallas Mavericks GM wanted to improve their defense.

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Although the trade has not panned out as he expected, AD is a player known for perseverance. While he has struggled to remain healthy for a long stretch in recent times, retirement is probably not something he is thinking about right now.

Anthony Davis has already missed 18 games this season due to several issues, and if sources are right, he could miss a considerable chunk of the remaining 41 regular-season games.

The Mavericks don’t have much hope this season as they are 12th in the Western Conference with an underwhelming 14-25 record. They have a slight chance of making it to the play-ins, but they won’t be able to trade AD anymore, nor will they get his services for the next few weeks.

When will Anthony Davis return from his hand injury?

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Davis is out for “a number of months,” sidelining him beyond the trade deadline of February 5. This will seriously affect the Mavericks’ season, as he was a top trade candidate for them.

He could require surgery on his left hand, but reportedly, the 32-year-old is also looking for a second opinion, preferably a non-surgical route. Even NBA Insider Marc Stein has confirmed that he has yet to consult a hand specialist, but the injury is serious in nature.

He was even spotted with a sling during the Mavs’ shootaround in Chicago.

Overall, it is currently very difficult to predict the injury timeline, but this incident has single-handedly derailed the Mavericks’ campaign.

Whether Anthony Davis will be in the Mavericks’ plans when they decide to build a team around their star rookie Cooper Flagg remains to be seen, as he was looking to get traded to a team that would accept his contract extension in the offseason, as he had already understood that the Mavericks wouldn’t do that.

He is already earning $54.1 million this season. He’s eligible for a four-year, $275 million maximum extension in August.

AD is averaging 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game, but the fact that he has only appeared in 20 games this season tells the whole story about his fitness.