Mavericks' Anthony Davis Has Surprise Eye Surgery

Dallas All-Star Anthony Davis has undergone a surprise summer eye surgery.

Mavericks' Anthony Davis Has Surprise Eye Surgery originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Dallas Mavericks have had one of the most uneven calendar years in the NBA, beyond the franchise-rocking All-Star Achilles tendon tears that affected the postseason trajectories of the Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks.

Just ahead of the trade deadline, Dallas flipped five-time All-NBA First Team guard Luka Doncic, grappling with a lingering calf injury, to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package highlighted by 10-time All-Star center/power forward Anthony Davis.

In total, the Mavericks flipped Doncic and big men Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers for Davis, shooting guard Max Christie, and L.A.'s unprotected 2029 first round draft pick. Dallas and Los Angeles offloaded 2025 second round picks to the Utah Jazz so that the Lakers could dump the contract of then-second-year point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.

Without Doncic — who had guided the Lakers to the Finals just months before — his fellow backcourt All-Star guard, Kyrie Irving, took on an undue minutes burden. Eventually, it yielded an ACL tear, dooming the team's postseason upside.

Davis played just one game, on Feb. 8, before incurring a left adductor strain. By the time he returned to the fold to wrap up his season, Irving was already hurt. The Kentucky product, 32, played just nine contests after being dealt to Dallas.

Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) dribbles during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Mavericks made the play-in tournament and beat the Sacramento Kings in their first matchup, but ultimately did not qualify for the playoffs proper, falling to the Memphis Grizzlies in their second play-in game. 

By slipping into the lottery, the Mavericks received an insanely lucky break when they vaulted up to the No. 1 pick in last month's draft. Dallas used the pick to select Duke phenom Cooper Flagg, considered by far to be the top prospect in the class.

Now, with Irving expected to be sidelined for at least the first few months of 2025-26, the Mavericks have been dealt another unfortunate injury blow.

Davis has undergone a surprise eye surgery, per a report from Shams Charania of ESPN.

Charania reveals that Davis had been playing with a detached retina during the year, and now has undergone a procedure to correct it. 

Happily, the Mavericks anticipate that the 6-foot-10 big man will be available for the start of training camp this fall.

Related: Anthony Davis Explains Power of Three-Headed Dragon

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.

Category: Basketball