Anthony Davis makes succinct statement about facing Lakers: ‘No emotions’

Dallas Mavericks star big man Anthony Davis is slated to face off against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, on Wednesday for the first time since the storied franchise traded him to the Mavericks for a package highlighted by guard Luka Doncic.

Los Angeles and Dallas previously did battle on Feb. 25 in what was Doncic’s first game playing against the Mavericks, but Davis was sidelined for the contest with an adductor strain.

With the Mavericks and Lakers set to face off again on April 9, Davis was asked what his emotions are like heading into the game. He responded with a cold and succinct statement.

“No emotions,” Davis said.

Davis was sidelined for quite a long time with his adductor strain, as he made his Mavericks debut against the Houston Rockets on Feb. 8 and didn’t see the floor again for Dallas until the team’s March 24 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

However, Davis has suited up in the majority of Dallas’ games since making his initial return to the court and is fresh off a solid performance versus the Los Angeles Clippers on April 5. He dropped 27 points while shooting 10-of-13 from the free-throw line and also chipped in nine rebounds.

The Mavericks have seen their season go down the tubes after they traded Doncic. Guard Kyrie Irving saw his campaign get cut short after he suffered a torn ACL, and Davis has only played in seven games with the Mavericks.

However, the recent play of Davis has seemingly helped Dallas at least stay in play-in territory in the Western Conference standings.

The Mavericks have won four of the six games Davis has played in since making his return to the court and sit as the No. 9 seed in the West. Dallas has just three games left on its regular-season schedule. After taking on the Lakers on Wednesday, the Mavericks will wrap up their season with bouts against the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies.

Despite what Davis had to say about the looming matchup against his former team, fans of the Lakers should expect Davis to have extra motivation to have a big game on Wednesday.