A Bible has been sitting inside Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington’s locker of late and he has been taking it everywhere for worship and daily guidance. With the challenges the Mavericks have faced this season due to devastating injuries and the aftermath of superstar Luka Doncic being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, one verse in particular has helped Washington.
“Proverbs 3:56. It was also my first tattoo [on my chest],” Washington told Andscape recently. “‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Always submit to him and he will leave your path straight.’
“Leave it all up to him. That’s all we can do. Keep praying, keep worshiping and keep believing. Just keep fighting.”
The drama of this season has given the Mavericks players several reasons to need prayer and to continue believing.
The Mavericks organization continues to face criticism from their own fans and the media for trading Doncic, the face of the franchise, to the Lakers on Feb. 1. NBA All-Star guard Kyrie Irving suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee on March 4. Guard Dante Exum (hand) and forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper (wrist) have also suffered season-ending injuries. All-Star forward Anthony Davis (oblique), center Dereck Lively II (ankle) and center Daniel Gafford (knee) have also missed significant time to injuries.
“It says everything. It says a lot about this group,” Washington said about the Mavs continuing to fight through adversity. “I feel like no matter who is playing, we all have the same mentality. And we all keep God first and are just trying to go out there and fight for him.”
Marc J. Spears
Through it all, the Western Conference’s 10th-seeded Mavericks (39-43) were able to land a potential path to the NBA playoffs through the play-in tournament. The Mavericks visit the ninth-seeded Sacramento Kings in their do-or-die play-in game tonight (10 p.m. ET, ESPN). The winner of the Dallas-Sacramento game will play at Memphis on Friday night for eighth playoff seed and a chance to play the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed, in the first round.
The Kings swept the Mavericks 3-0 in the regular season, but Dallas is much healthier now with Davis, Lively and Gafford expected to play.
“I don’t think we were healthy [in any] of those matchups we played them,” Washington said after practice Monday. “It’s going to be different. I think with AD (Davis), it will be better for us. It’s going to be good. I can’t wait to get there and play. I’m just excited for the moment, excited to go out there and excited to be part of this.”
Washington said his parents took him to Southern Baptist Church “every Sunday” for church and Sunday school while growing up in Louisville, Kentucky; St. Louis; Chicago and in the Dallas-area. He recalled his father, Paul Sr., being close friends with a Louisville pastor who regularly came by their home. Washington added that his father also gifted him a dual-tone leather Bible with “Paul Washington Jr.” inscribed on the front.
Washington had been using the Bible app in recent years as his primary religious source. That changed when he found his old Bible at his home in Charlotte the night before the Mavericks lost to the Charlotte Hornets 110-105 on Jan. 20. Since then, the former Hornets star said he has been taking his Bible wherever he goes on the road with the Mavericks. He said he recently read Genesis and Romans and is reading motivational scriptures his Bible recommends based on his emotion at that time. It is not uncommon to see his Bible sitting in his locker on game day.
“I just felt the need to just bring with me every day,” Washington told Andscape. “I know [God is] with me every step of the way, but he’s definitely here more now. Just being in the word more, I just feel like it just opens up everything just in life. I’m just so much happier and I just feel a lot better about myself…
“I just felt the need to get closer to God. I’ve been praying more and being in the word only helps me. I just encourage everybody else to do the same. God offers so much for all of us and we wouldn’t be here in this position without him. So, he deserves all the praise, glory and worship and we deserve to do that for him.”
Washington said he has been playing better and with more focus since he found his old Bible and started reading it daily.
Washington averaged 14.7 points, a career-high 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 57 games for Dallas this season. He had his best month of the season in March, averaging 19.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, including three games scoring more than 25 points. His average of 28 points per game in three games against Sacramento just happens to be his season-high average against a Western Conference team.
“I’m just being disciplined and it’s showing in my game,” Washington said. “It’s showing me how to be a father. I feel a lot better about myself in every aspect of life. My teammates have definitely noticed for sure. They haven’t asked me about it, but they definitely see that I’m in my word…
“I’m just locked in right now mentally, physically and emotionally right now. And it’s all because of [the Bible].”
Last season, Doncic and Irving led Dallas to the 2025 NBA Finals. Now, as the 10th and final seed in the West, the odds are stacked against the new-look Mavs to win a play-in game and have any postseason success. For Washington, now is certainly a good time to read the story of David and Goliath — found in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 17 — to find motivation about conquering the giants of the West.
“Right now, it’s just about trusting and believing the process,” Washington said. “Obviously, things haven’t gone the way we wanted them to go, but as long as we don’t let go of the rope, I feel like in the playoffs the sky is the limit for us. We have a great roster, a roster built to win now and in the future.”