In his debut with the Dallas Mavericks in the aftermath of the blockbuster Luka Doncic trade in February, Anthony Davis, celebrating after a putback dunk culminated an exciting first stretch with the team, turned to the crowd at American Airlines center and shouted, "I'm here!" in a moment that went viral.
Davis, in his first sit-down interview since arriving in Dallas, explained why he yelled those words specifically to Mavericks fans.
"I know the whole city was down because of the Luka [Doncic] thing," Davis said. "At the same time, I know who I am as a player. I'm top-75 of all time. I just wanted to let the Dallas fans know. I'm here. I got y'all. I'm here now.
"I know you lost a superstar in Luka but you also gained a superstar in myself."
The Doncic trade was met with some backlash from pundits, fans and even Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban, who felt the franchise should have received more in return for Doncic. But Davis quickly quieted that chatter in his debut against the Houston Rockets on Feb. 8, as he racked up 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots in 31 minutes of action.
Unfortunately, Davis suffered a left adductor strain in the second half of his debut, and hasn't played since. The star big man's injury is one of several setbacks the Mavericks are dealing with currently, none bigger than the season-ending torn ACL suffered by star guard Kyrie Irving, which led to some speculation that Davis may sit out the remainder of the regular season with Dallas's playoff hopes seemingly waning.
But in a statement released Friday, the Mavericks, among other updates, stated that Davis has been "cleared for more dynamic on-court movements." The team did not announce a target date for the All-Star big man's return.
Dallas, 32-32, is currently in 10th place in the Western Conference, good for the last spot in the NBA's play-in tournament.
Should Davis return this season, there's no doubt that he'll want to keep showing Mavericks fans that he's here now.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Anthony Davis Explains Why He Yelled 'I'm Here' to Mavericks Fans During Debut.
