Before his coaching career, Davis played for North Carolina from 1988 to 1992 and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and New Jersey Nets from 1992 to 2004.

[1] Davis attended Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia, averaging 28.0 points per game his senior year.

He attended the same high school as future Tar Heel women's soccer great and Olympic medalist Mia Hamm.

Davis was on the bench for the Tar Heels 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament run that concluded with a 71–65 win over Gonzaga in the National Championship game.

[12] On February 21, 2022, Davis's Tar Heels defeated Louisville to give the first-year head coach his 20th victory of the year.

Davis became the fourth ACC head coach to win twenty games in his debut season in the past twenty-five years with the victory.

Davis's Tar Heels capped off a 23–8 regular season with a 94–81 victory over Duke in Mike Krzyzewski's final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

[14] The victory secured Davis's first sweet sixteen berth as head coach and the school's 30th overall, the most by any program in Division I history.

After a 73–66 victory over 4th seed UCLA Bruins in the Sweet Sixteen, Davis and his Tar Heels advanced to the Elite Eight where they defeated the St. Peter's Peacocks 69–49 to earn a trip to the Final Four.

In the national semifinal game, the Tar Heels matched up against arch rivals Duke for the first time in NCAA tournament history.