In February 2025, Anthony Davis was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Dallas Mavericks in a blockbuster three-team deal that brought Luka Doncic to LA, before Davis was subsequently moved to the Washington Wizards. Recently, Davis admitted that a misguided bulking regimen to guard elite centers like Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid compromised his mobility, accelerating the end of his tenure with the Lakers.
The Heavy Toll of Guarding Elite Centers in Los Angeles
The partnership between Anthony Davis and LeBron James yielded an NBA championship and cemented a formidable two-man game in the Western Conference. In his recent disclosures, Davis revealed how preparing for heavyweight matchups altered his physical profile entirely. “The strength training I was doing because I knew I was playing center, like I’m going against Joel Embiid and Jokic,” Davis explained, as reported by The Sporting News. Operating around a standard 250-pound playing weight throughout his career, Davis pushed his mass to roughly 265 or even 268 pounds to absorb contact in the post.
That added bulk immediately disrupted his fluid movement on both ends of the floor. “And I never like I’ve always played like 250. And that year I had got to like 265 and it was like I didn’t like it. It was actually probably like 268 and I didn’t like it. I’m like, bro, I can’t play like this. I feel heavy,” Davis noted via The Sporting News. Attempting an in-season weight cut while managing high-intensity minutes proved counterproductive and exhausting.
Roster Construction Clashes and the Trade That Sent Luka Doncic to LA
Before the front office blindsided him with a trade deadline move, Davis had openly lobbied the Lakers’ leadership for frontline help to relieve his defensive burden. “I think we need another big,” Davis told ESPN’s Shams Charania during his final season in Los Angeles. “I feel like I’ve always been at my best when I’ve been the 4, having a big out there.” Despite these repeated appeals for a traditional center to absorb low-block assignments, the front office pursued a different direction altogether on a late February night in 2025.
“The Dallas Mavericks are trading Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Three-team deal that includes Utah,” Charania posted on social media. That trade immediately rerouted Davis’s career trajectory, eventually landing him with the Washington Wizards after a brief stint in Dallas.
| Team Acquiring | Players Received | Outgoing Assets |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers | Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, Markieff Morris | Anthony Davis, Max Christie, 2029 1st-Round Pick |
| Dallas Mavericks / Washington Wizards | Anthony Davis (subsequently moved), Max Christie, Draft Capital | Luka Doncic and supporting rotation pieces |
Regaining Form and Spacing in Washington
Now settled into a system where he can slide back to his natural power forward spot, Davis is shedding the physical limitations that plagued his final months in Southern California.
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