Kyrie Irving Mavericks future, Kyrie Irving injury update, Kyrie Irving ACL injury return timeline, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, Cooper Flagg Rookie of the Year, Mavericks news, Kyrie Irving out for season
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Kyrie Irving #11 of the Dallas Mavericks looks on during a game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on November 28, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
The DallasMavericks have by no means been healthy this season, as seen with the now-traded Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, and perhaps most notably, Kyrie Irving. While there was some hope that Irving would return sometime this season after tearing his ACL last March, the latest injury update on the star point guard signals he won’t play at all this year.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN, the Mavericks are shutting down Irving for the rest of the year.Although rumors had circulated about a return timeline sometime after the All-StarBreak, it is now official that he will sit out for the entire season.
“Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving will miss the season to allow himself additional timeto fully heal from the torn ACL he suffered last March. Irving will make his return for the 2026–27 season,” he wrote in a post on X.
Shams Charania
Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving will miss the season to allow himself additional time to fully heal from the torn ACL he suffered last March. Irving will make his return for the 2026–27 season.
While Irving was reportedly making progress on his injury and eyeing a return this year, that can be thrown out the window. With that, his future in Dallas is in greater question, as after trading Davis and looking forward to a future with rookie Cooper Flagg, the aging and injured point guard doesn’t fit the timeline of the new franchise star.
Kyrie Irving InjuryUpdate: Out For Season
As mentioned, there was earlier reporting this season that Irving would potentially return this year.
“Yeah, I’m right on schedule, guys. There’s consistency here. I’m right on schedule,”Irving said before the season began. “For me, my advice, the best advice I got is just take your time. No timeline is going to be perfect.Don’t compare it to anyone else andjust enjoy the process.”
Additionally, Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal had reported in January that there had been no indication of the Mavericks shutting him down for the rest of the season.
“While the Mavericks have not publicly communicated a return timetable for Irving, sources tellDallasHoopsJournal.com there has been no indication he will be shut down for the season,” Afseth wrote. “Instead, the prevailing expectation is that Irving’s return would more realistically come after theNBA All-Star break as it stands, rather than before it.”
Updates on Irving’s injury and potential return timeline hadpreviously been sparse throughout the year, as overall,it wasvery uncertainif the star himself would be interested in playing this year on a Dallas team that, as the seasonwent along, lookedmore and more destined for the lottery.
However, even before Charania confirmed the latest news, Tim McMahon raised questions about Irving coming back anytime soon, as he wrote that the star, ‘has yet to be cleared to practice, and while Irving has made it clear that he hopes to play this season, sources anticipate that, considering the Mavs’ place in the standings, there will be discussions about postponing his comeback until next season.’
Most recently, Marc Stein reported that Irving would have a sayonwhether hewanted to play again this season, and that ‘the decision will be a collaborative one’ between him and the Mavericks.
But now, with Charania’s latest report, all the rumors of a return can be put to bed.
Irving's agent, Shetellia Riley Irving, tells ESPN: "This is about Kyrie being 1000% when he comes back and giving himself the best chance to chase a championship next season." https://t.co/iWx4eQbJ82
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 18, 2026
“Irving’s agent, Shetellia Riley Irving, tells ESPN: ‘This is about Kyrie being 1000% when he comes back and giving himself the best chance to chase a championship next season,'” the insider wrote in a separate post.
The typical timeline for a return from an ACL injury is roughly nine to 12 months, but considering Irving is at the back end of his career, along with Dallas’ spot in the standings, both he and the team believe there is no reason to risk another injury with his return.
Kyrie Irving’s Future With The Dallas Mavericks
While Irving has been a key piece in Dallas’ team over the past few years, his future with the franchise has been in question ever since they infamously traded Luka Doncic for Davis.
Questions grew even more once they traded Davis at the trade deadline for a relatively disappointing haul, considering what they gave up for the big man in early 2025. As they look forward to a future with apotentialRookie of the Year in Flagg, Irving’s place on the team can once again be put under the microscope.
Reporting around the time of the trade deadline, NBA insider Marc Spears said Irving and his camp were evaluating his future with the team after they dealt Davis to the Washington Wizards.
Kevin Gray Jr.
“I talked to [Kyrie’s] agent, Shetellia Riley Irving. She said that Kyrie is just processing the changes & he’s still committed to Dallas. Source close to the Mavs told me that they believe Kyrie is still committed to the Mavericks as well.” – @MarcJSpears #MFFL
(🎥: @ESPNNBA)
“I talked to [Kyrie’s] agent, Shetellia Riley Irving. She said that Kyrie is just processing the changes and he’s still committed to Dallas. Source close to the Mavs told me that they believe Kyrie is still committed to the Mavericks as well,” Spears said on NBA Today.
However, now at 33 years old and coming off an ACL injury, Irving isn’t the same player that hit the game-winning shot in the 2016 NBA Finals. He is still a top-tier point guard when healthy, but as that hasn’t been the case in nearly a year, and he’ll have been out for roughly 18 months by the start of next season, it is fair to say both he and the Mavericks will decide on what is best for the team and his future.
Flagg, at only 19 years old, is the new face of the franchise, and though they haven’t seen him play alongside Irving, trading him over the offseason to a title contender for more young assets might be their best move.
Irving has one more guaranteed year on the contract extension he signed the Dallas over the summer, set to make $39.4 million in 2026-27, with a player option for more than $42 million in 2027-28.