NEWARK, Del. -- That was it.
For all the games Baron Davis had played, that was how his 13-year NBA career in which he scored 13,447 points was ending, he thought.
On May 6, 2012 Davis suffered a serious right knee injury, including a torn ACL and MCL, while playing for the Knicks in a postseason game against the Heat at Madison Square Garden.
“Nobody wants to be carried off on a stretcher,” Davis said. “I think every player that retires pretty much wants to retire on their own will or because they’re just not good enough anymore. For me, that didn’t necessarily happen. Getting carried off in the Garden on a stretcher was not my ideal situation of leaving the game. Now, it’s just making my way back.”
Davis gave the frank answer Friday flanked by a Delaware 87ers backdrop as sweat dropped from his forehead after shootaround, collecting in a pool on the table in front of him. Inside an auditorium at the University of Delaware, the newest member of the NBA Development League held his first media availability - two reporters and a photographer. It was a much different scene than being surrounded at his locker or sitting at a podium for a postgame press conference.
“I wanted to start from the bottom,” he said. “I think for me, it’s humbling, it’s something special. I can be around young guys, see what they think, see what it feels like. For me, it’s just working my way up. I want to start from the bottom and go as far as I can.”
Davis rehabbed and stepped away from playing professional basketball, until he couldn’t shake that nagging feeling anymore. Leaving the game the way he did didn't sit well with him. He signed a D-League contract in January and was acquired by the Delaware 87ers on Wednesday. Two days later, he prepared for his first D-League game, six weeks shy of his 37th birthday.
Davis’ goal is to make it back to the NBA, where he averaged 16.1 points and 7.2 assists points per game. “Oh yeah, for sure,” he said.
The 87ers are affiliated with the 76ers, who have one roster spot open, though Davis could sign with any NBA organization.
“I’ll play for anybody,” he said when asked about the Sixers. “I’m here in the D-League. I’ll play for anybody to be honest.”
Davis had been asked questions of a return to the NBA for years. It seemed like everywhere he went, someone wanted to know when and if he would be suiting up again.
“Everybody (encouraged me),” said Davis, a two-time All-Star. “Twitter, on Facebook, Instagram, walking in the store, in a cab, in an Uber, at the grocery store, just friends, family, a lot of people, running into people randomly, ‘Hey, we want to see you play,’ and it’s like, ‘Eehhh.’ Slowly but surely, [I] start using that as motivation, and now I’m here.”
But before Davis could attempt a comeback, he had to be patient with his knee recovery. Days turned into weeks, which spiraled into months. Waiting became difficult at times.
“I would say like the first month (was the most challenging), because it was like, ‘Alright, I want to get out here, I want to get out here and do it every day,’” he said. “Every day I did it, it was just harder and harder. You want to quit, and after a week, you’re not really making progress, and you hit walls, and all that. It was a tough journey just to get to the point of being able to play each and every day and actually make progress.”
Davis attended Clippers and Lakers games out in Los Angeles, reminiscing on his playing days from his seats. In the offseasons, he worked out in L.A. with players including Paul George, Reggie Jackson, Matt Barnes and Trevor Ariza. Meanwhile, he didn’t receive interest as season after season approached.
“I didn’t really put myself out there like that,” Davis said. “I didn’t really think about going to a training camp or anything like that. Not until November, December I really started to process it and kind of give it my all.”
It wasn’t until this past summer that he began playing regularly. He had built up the strength and conditioning to the point where he felt like he could go through it on a daily basis. He likened the sensation of being out on the court to having a sweet tooth and going into a candy store -- he wanted more.
“I caught the bug again,” he said. “It was like, I need to be doing this every day. This is a part of my life, a peace of mind for me.”
Davis had been in the available player pool for almost two months when the 87ers began looking to add production after Jordan McRae and Sean Kilpatrick were called up last Sunday. There weren’t any names that jumped out when they explored the pool. Then, they decided, to reach out to Davis. Not only could he contribute on the court, but he would also be able to provide a veteran presence to the group.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys, and part of it is, we need some particularly at the guard, leader-type position, the point guard position, to give us a little bit of veteran know-how, some leadership,” head coach Kevin Young said. “Similar to what Coach (Brett) Brown has done up there with Elton (Brand), although he’s a big. When you have that presence, when I’m looking this way, maybe Baron’s saying something to one of the guys on the end of the bench, and I think there’s a lot of value in that.”
Following shootaround Davis ran through three-point shooting drills with a group of teammates. They trailed him closely around the arc, paying close attention to everything he said. Young noted Davis' ability to find teammates shots they didn’t know they could make.
Davis looks forward to this new role.
“I think that it’s a young organization again as far as the owners and the things they’re trying to do,” he said. “They reached out and we had some great conversations about coming in here and playing and also talking to some of the young guys, mentoring. For me, that’s exactly what I want to start doing now with the last few years that I have left is play as much as I can, mentor and just kind of be a student and a teacher of the game.”
Young plans to bring Davis in off the bench in three-to-five minute spurts. He wants to see how Davis responds to the speed of the game and back-to-back practices or consecutive practices and shootarounds.
Davis admitted he has not been able to sleep for two nights in anticipation of his first game.
“I know I can pass, I can shoot, make plays,” he said. “Basketball, for me, that’s the easy part. It’s just a matter of just being able to get out there and know what I can do, and get my athleticism back and my timing. Once all that happens, I’ll be a better player.”
Four years ago, Davis didn't want his NBA career to come to a sudden stop being carted off the court. Now he has the opportunity to turn that ending into a pause before the next chapter.
"The ultimate goal is to go as far as I possibly can and to use this last month of the season to get in better basketball shape, to get some games under my belt, some five-on-five under my belt, to have a good summer and continue to wind up in somebody’s camp or play in some summer league," he said. "But right now the game is so different because I just get to play, there’s no pressure, I don’t have to answer to anybody. I’m just out here as more so like a free spirit."