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Those who've kept close eyes on the Washington Wizards' active offseason understand just how many new and near-unquantifiable variables will play into the squad's heightened regular season expectations.
The comfortability with which AJ Dybantsa attacks scoring and ancillary opportunities, Trae Young's fit in a less ball-dominant role and the other prospects' abilities to get their games off while splitting limited minutes have to be accounted for, but so should one other constantly-lingering question. Anthony Davis will step into a prominent role within the Wizards' nightly equation, and with him, that age-old hypothetical is already beginning to echo throughout offseason predictions: "if he's healthy, this team can reach all-new heights."
Those who've followed past Davis stops such as the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers and, most recently and strangely, the Dallas Mavericks, know this rosy scenario all-too well. But Davis, intent on making a good impression on D.C.'s front office entering a presumably-healthy campaign, is all-in on disproving the admittedly-understandable narrative that's followed him around the league.
In the same mini-interview in which he heaped praise onto early Rookie of the Year candidate Dybantsa, Davis planted another flag regarding a goal of his own. He's looking to appear in all 82 games over the course of the Wizards' upcoming regular season schedule, unprecedented (and untouched) territory for a Future Hall-of-Famer with an injury history that's almost as legendary as his on-court exploits.
It's a nice sentiment to hear out of an asset who understands how much both he and his organization would have to gain out of a timely bounce-back season, but just how realistic is his ambitious target?
Davis' Iconic Injury History
The 10x All-Star was, to his credit, a regular season warrior during his Pelicans era, checking into at least 61 outings through all but the final year of his critically-acclaimed New Orleans stretch. Even the limited 56-game sample size he posted during his final Pelicans tour- Davis' successful attempt at forcing his way to Los Angeles- looks supple compared to the majority of the attendance numbers he's posted over the second half of his career.
Ever since the 2019-20 season, when Davis won the iconic 2020 NBA Bubble championship alongside LeBron James as a first-year Laker, he's cracked that games-played threshold just once.
Outside of the 76 games he saw during the 2023-24 campaign, he's been riddled by injuries sustained in the low post and league-inflicted wear and tear, and his most recent wanderings have featured more of the same in less-fortuitous circumstances. 51 appearance credits went to his name in 2024-25, when Davis' promising stretch of consistent attendance was interrupted by his sudden trade to Dallas, and he added just 20 check-ins this past season between his continued misadventures as a Maverick and the Wizards' lack of urgency regarding the physical damages he arrived to Washington with.
At the very least, he'll be surrounded by more all-around talent with the Wizards than he had to work with in Dallas between Young, Dybantsa and the rest of the young corps, and ascending center prospect Alex Sarr looks to provide Davis with exactly the frontcourt battery mate he never had during his Lakers heyday. He, too, can help absorb the rebounding and rim-protecting burdens, which can help spare Davis from putting on the unnecessary mileage he's previously shouldered.
Factoring In Davis' Asset Value
Even with those inspiring circumstances, his health continues looming as a major "what-if" given his prominence within the Wizards' starting lineup and just how abruptly he's succumbed to injury in the past, and the lingering uncertainty surrounding his place within Washington's future only further clouds fans from his optimism.
It never made much sense for the team to trade Davis earlier this summer with his league-wide value still well-below his standards, even if the choice between his hefty player-option and an even-gnarlier extension remains on the Wizards' horizon. It's in their best financial interest to get Davis healthy, trot him out with everyone else and start listening for calls if he's good enough to help an outside suitor win.
With that said, the Wizards' management group seems to really like Davis. They've remained noticably quiet on the extension front, but the organization's decision-makers have only said good things about the star's leadership and potential with the Wizards.
Maybe they won't trade him in lengthening his journey around the NBA, building him up and swapping him for more than they initially received Davis for. If there's any other reason for the big man to fall short of his self-imposed goal outside of the unexpected ailment, though, it would be another unexpected acquisition.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/wizards/onsi as How Realistic is Anthony Davis' Newest Personal Wizards Goal?.
