The debate is over - at least for now. Anthony Davis is officially the Dallas Mavericks’ center, and head coach Jason Kidd has finally made it clear: that’s where Davis gives this team the best chance to win.
It’s a shift that’s been a long time coming. Fans have been calling for Davis to play the five for months, and even going back to last season, it was obvious that his skill set - especially on the defensive end - is best utilized anchoring the paint. But Davis’ long-standing preference to play power forward, along with the Mavericks’ roster construction, kept pushing him back to the four.
Coming into the 2025-26 season, Dallas had a frontcourt logjam with Davis, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively II. The plan, built by GM Nico Harrison, was to balance minutes across all three bigs - which meant Davis would slide to the four more often than not.
On paper, it made sense. In practice?
Not so much.
Davis at the four just isn’t the answer anymore. He’s still one of the league’s most impactful defenders, but at this stage in his career, he’s built to play center - both physically and in terms of how the modern NBA game flows.
The Mavericks’ 12-20 record reflects the early struggles of that frontcourt experiment. And with Lively II now out for the season, the path is clear: Davis needs to be the full-time five.
Jason Kidd seems to agree.
Before the Mavericks’ recent matchup with the Denver Nuggets, Kidd was asked about his previous comments suggesting Davis might return to playing more power forward. That raised plenty of eyebrows - and some frustration - among fans who’ve watched Davis thrive at center. But Kidd clarified his stance pregame, explaining that any talk of Davis at the four was more about finding ways to get Gafford additional minutes, not a full-on positional shift.
“I just said that we can look at it, not get back to it soon,” Kidd said. “Just giving different options that we have to give Gaff a little bit more time on the floor.”
That’s a fair approach. Gafford can’t be glued to the bench, and there will be stretches where he and Davis share the floor. But Kidd also didn’t shy away from the reality of where Davis fits best.
“With the way we’re built right now,” Kidd added, “AD’s got to play the five. That gives us the best chance to win.”
That’s the kind of clarity Mavericks fans have been waiting for. There’s no forced narrative here, no stubborn commitment to a positional label that doesn’t fit. Kidd sees the same thing fans and analysts have seen for a while: Davis is at his most dominant when he’s patrolling the paint, not floating around the perimeter trying to make a twin-tower lineup work.
Of course, it’s not quite that simple. Gafford and Davis are going to share the court at times - they have to.
But those minutes haven’t exactly been encouraging. Dating back to last season, the Gafford-Davis pairing has struggled, particularly on the defensive end.
Gafford has trouble guarding bigs who can stretch the floor, and Davis’ presence at the four doesn’t fix that - it just adds more responsibility to his plate.
The numbers back it up, too. In just seven minutes together this season, lineups featuring both Davis and Gafford have posted a 133.3 defensive rating and a -6.1 net rating.
It’s a tiny sample size, sure, but it underscores the challenge. That duo simply hasn’t shown the same chemistry or defensive upside that Davis had with Lively II.
And now, with Lively II sidelined for the year, Kidd is navigating a tough situation with limited options.
Still, Kidd isn’t closing the door on the Gafford-Davis experiment just yet. He’s said they want to keep testing it out, and maybe - with more reps and the right matchups - it can work in short bursts. But unless that pairing starts producing in a meaningful way, expect Davis to keep logging the vast majority of his minutes at center.
And that’s exactly what the Mavericks need right now. Davis at the five gives them rim protection, switchability, and a defensive backbone they can build around.
It's not just about where he prefers to play - it's about where he’s most impactful. And finally, the Mavericks are leaning into that reality.
It may have taken some time, but the message is clear: Anthony Davis is the center of this team - figuratively and literally.