Anthony Davis still believes Dallas can make the playoffs: "Brooklyn started off 5-20 and ended up at the four seed"

The Dallas Mavericks have fallen into the abyss after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. At 5-15 after that setback, the Mavericks dropped to next-to-last in the Western Conference team standings, with only the 3-17 New Orleans Pelicans sitting behind.

Despite being in a huge hole, Anthony Davis isn't about to waive the white flag on their 2025-26 season. With still more than enough games to play, he still feels the team can turn things around.

"We're still playing basketball, we're trying to compete," Davis said. "We are competing, we're playing for each other, and we're playing together. I remember when Brooklyn started off 5-20 and ended up at the four seed. I'm not saying we're comparing ourselves to that or that we're going to start off 5-20, but we just have to keep competing. There were just a couple of plays here and there that hurt us, but we can't complain, we keep fighting. I feel like we're right there."

Only two teams made the playoffs after a 5-20 start

Davis referenced the 2022-23 Brooklyn Nets, a team that actually had a 13-12 record over their first 25 games, but still finished as the sixth seed led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

In the history of the NBA, only two teams have made the postseason after a 5-20 start — the 1984-85 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 1952-53 Baltimore Bullets. If this season's Mavericks are somehow to accomplish the feat, they would be the first team to do so in 40 years, a remarkable achievement.

The 1996-97 Phoenix Suns opened the year with a 0-13 record before a coaching change sparked a turnaround that resulted in a 40-42 record at the end of the season. They made the playoffs, but lost in the opening round.

That's another proof that a team's postseason hopes shouldn't die until it's mathematically impossible. However, the Mavericks shouldn't wait to fall to 5-20 to start winning. They need to pick up wins as soon as possible.

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Too early to count out the Mavs?

The Mavericks had a fair chance to steal the game from the Lakers. However, with Davis on minutes restriction — this was his first game back from injury — he checked out with 6:56 left in the game and the Lakers up by only three points and came back at the 4:24 mark, but with the Lakers up by 10 points at 121-111.

"Yeah, it was tough," the NBA star said of the minutes restriction. "Five minutes is definitely a short stint. I'm used to playing nine or the whole first quarter. It was different for rhythm and for the mental part of it."

The Mavericks had a back-to-back the following night against the "other" Los Angeles team, the Clippers, and as part of his recovery protocol, Davis was forced to sit out. Still, Cooper Flagg played the best game of his NBA career, scoring a career-high 35 points, including clutch free throws to lead Dallas to a 114-110 win.

At 6-15 and Davis back, with the possibility of Irving returning early next year, it may indeed be too early to count out the Mavericks.

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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.