NBA superstar and Dallas guard Kyrie Irving learned Tuesday that it was a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to his left knee that he suffered during the Mavericks’ home loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, March 3.
Irving made two free throws before being helped off the court by teammates. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd lamented the team’s spate of injuries this season after the Kings won 122-98.
“The injuries that we’ve had this season, guys are trying to hold it together,” Kidd said. “You get other bodies back, and it just seems that every time we’re close to getting someone back, someone goes down. Both Hardy and Kyrie go down, and so we’re running out of bodies here, but guys keep fighting.”
Irving could miss beginning of next season
ACL injuries can take nine months, sometimes even longer, to heal, but a great athlete like Irving may push himself to be ready for the start of the 2025-2026 NBA season, which begins in November, eight months from now.
Irving, 32, averaged 24.7 points this season and was named to his ninth NBA All-Star team earlier in the year. He will enter the final year of his contract next season and is eligible for an extension this summer. The injury likely will affect the team’s decisions on whether to keep him or let him go.
It has been a tumultuous five-week period for the Mavericks, as they traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis at the beginning of February. Davis was injured in his first game with the Mavericks and has yet to return. Irving is gone for the season, and fans will not see the pair on the floor together until next season.
