Wizards GM urges Anthony Davis to 'remind basketball world' of what he is

Legacies are usually shaped by recency. Players who have been on the court more in the past few years tend to get more attention than those who aren't seen as often. Anthony Davis is on the other side of this coin. Many fans haven't seen him at full strength in recent seasons. In fact, his whole injury history has become a meme. Will Dawkins and the Washington Wizards plan to flip that narrative on its head in the upcoming 2026-27 NBA season. He made his expectations of the big man very clear.

Wizards GM Dawkins pressures Davis to 'remind' the NBA of what he is

Anthony Davis is healthy and ready to go in the Wizards lineup. Those are words that have been rare in the past couple of NBA seasons. Most recently, he battled through a groin injury and a finger ligament injury prior to getting traded. A year before, the big man had to deal with a detached retina and adductor strains. All of that meant he played only 71 games over the past two seasons. Wizards GM Will Dawkins plans to change all of that.

See, the Wizards are starting their ascent into becoming NBA championship contenders. They have Trae Young to set the offense. An upcoming star in AJ Dybantsa will be useful too. Beyond that, they have a strong supporting core with Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington, and Khris Middleton. Davis is at the center of all that. That is why Dawkins urges the big man to remind everyone how much of a beast he is on the court after about two seasons of subpar outings, via David Aldridge and Josh Dobbins of The Athletic.

"What I will say is, AD is in a great frame of mind. He's focused and ready to start the season. I would say he's very much a motivated player right now, and I expect AD to remind the basketball world who he really is," the Wizards GM declared.

Before the plague of injuries Davis suffered over the past two seasons, he was doing great. The big man was an NBA All-Star during the 2024-25 season. A year prior, he finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and earned an All-NBA second-team nod. Due to recency bias, some fans may think that Davis can no longer turn back the clock. This is where most of them might be proven wrong in the coming months.

The former first-overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft has a lot to give. The Wizards' roster construction also takes a lot of pressure off his shoulders. Alex Sarr can play center while Davis plays in his natural power forward spot. Young also gets the perfect pick-and-roll partner, freeing up the interior. More than that, Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly have also proven themselves as capable defenders who can help Davis. When they need a spark plug, Middleton comes in to score points.

Dawkins built this team in a way that eases the burden on each player. He would not ask Davis to 'make the basketball world remember ' if the big man had no teammates who allowed him to do so in the first place.