Kyrie Irving has warning to Mavericks fans hoping he’ll be back from injury by NBA playoffs
Kyrie Irving is in no rush to return from his torn ACL.
The Dallas Mavericks guard will be entering his 15th NBA season sidelined due to the knee injury he suffered during a tumultuous campaign for the team, which was among the more injured squads in the league.
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“I just want to be back 150,000 percent better,” Irving said on a live stream this week. “I’m taking my time right now to really get healthy. … It’s not pretty. Yes, it is a beautiful struggle.”
The 33-year-old veteran star suffered the injury on March 3 in a game against the Sacramento Kings.
An MRI confirmed a torn left ACL, abruptly ending his 2024–25 campaign.
Irving, who already underwent successful surgery shortly after, has endured multiple significant knee injuries and procedures throughout his career, one in 2015 after fracturing his kneecap during the NBA Finals, and another in 2018 to remove screws in the same knee.
During his stream, Irving was asked if he would play again during the 2026 playoffs.
“Don’t hold your breath on that,” he answered. “It doesn’t mean that I won’t be back… I don’t want to make any predictions… I just want to be back 150,000 percent better… taking my time to get my body right, other portions of my body right, and really enjoy this recovery process.”
Before the injury, Irving was his usual self, averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game across 50 appearances.
The 2024–25 season marked his fifth in which he averaged at least 20 points, shot 40 percent from three, and maintained a 90 percent free throw percentage, a feat only matched by Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
Irving reportedly agreed to a three-year, $119 million deal last offseason, which would begin this season, taking the NBA champion guard into his 17th campaign.
When Irving returns to the floor, he’ll have a few new teammates, most notably, No. 1 overall pick and fellow Duke alum Cooper Flagg, selected by the Mavs last month in the NBA draft.
Anthony Davis, traded for in the infamous Luka Doncic deal earlier this year, is also back on the team that hopes to get beyond the play-in round.
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