Anthony Davis gave the fans something to watch in his long-awaited debut with the Washington Wizards. On Wednesday, Davis led the Wizards to a 128-116 win in their season opener over the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring 34 points in an electric performance that earned him “MVP” chants throughout the game.
In a press conference after the game, Davis put a lot of credit towards the home crowd in Capital One Arena.
“I had so much fun tonight. A lot of emotion. A lot of energy,” Davis said. “I was just feeding off the crowd, off my teammates.”
Davis, who was traded to the team in February but was sidelined with a hand injury, said that crowd helped power the win — and that it was a notable improvement from his first home game after arriving in Washington.
“If we’re being honest, I’d like it to be a little more packed in there, you know? But the crowd was great. They were into it. They got us over the hump,” Davis said. “Even when I came last year, the very first home game, I was like, ‘It’s Dress Like a Seat Night’ in here.
“But it’s good that they’re showing up for us now. They’re showing up for us. It’s only going to get better and better. We’ve got to be able to create the atmosphere for them to come and cheer for us.”
The official attendance for Wednesday’s game was 18,805 fans — about 1,500 short of the total basketball capacity of 20,356. However, that number appears to be an increase from last season: Washington averaged 16,106 people per game in 2025-26, per ESPN, marking the second-lowest attendance in the league last year.
The low attendance directly correlates to performance: The Wizards finished dead last in the league last season, after having the second-worst record the previous two years before.
But for the first time in a while, Washington has given fans something to be excited about. Davis, finally back on the court, joins another recent-ish acquisition in Trae Young, plus other veterans Khris Middleton and Deandre Ayton and exciting young prospects like AJ Dybantsa. (Dybantsa, the No. 1 overall pick, did not play Wednesday due to an ankle injury.)
The victory over the Bucks gave brought the Wizards to 1-0 — improbably marking the first time Washington has had a winning record since Nov. 28, 2022.
Still, Davis acknowledged during his press conference that there’s still a lot of season left to go.
“It’s only one,” Davis said. “81 left.”