Kyrie Irving will not play for the Mavericks this season.
The star guard has been sidelined all year due to a torn ACL suffered in March 2025. Instead of rushing back, Irving will now have additional time to completely heal from the injury, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday.
“This is about Kyrie being 1000% when he comes back and giving himself the best chance to chase a championship next season,” Irving’s agent Shetellia Riley Irving told ESPN.
Initial reports indicated that those within the Mavericks organization were optimistic Irving could return by January 2026, but the 33-year-old told fans on a live stream in July to not hold their breath that he’d be back for the playoffs should Dallas get there.
“It doesn’t mean that I won’t be back (next season),” he said. “I don’t want to make any predictions on when I’m going to be back. ... So I’m taking my time right now to really get healthy. I’m taking my time to really get my body right, other portions of my body right and really just enjoy this recovery process.”
In 50 games for Dallas prior to his injury last year, Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
Dallas is 19-35 and sit 12th in the Western Conference. The Mavs were sellers at the trade deadline when they traded Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards in a nine-player deal.