Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving won’t return this season after he underwent surgery for a torn ACL in March 2025, the team announced Wednesday.
Irving, who turns 34 on March 23, hasn’t played in a game for the Mavericks this season. He last played on March 3, 2025, when he suffered an ACL injury against the Sacramento Kings.
“This morning we announced that Kyrie Irving will not return to play during the 2025-26 NBA season as he continues his recovery from ACL reconstruction surgery performed in 2025,” the Mavericks wrote in a post to X. “Can’t wait until you’re back on the court, Kai.”
Irving also issued a statement via the Mavs saying he agreed with the decision for him to not return to action this season.
“This decision wasn’t easy, but it’s the right one,” he said. “I am grateful for the Mavericks organization, my teammates and our fans for their continued support throughout the process. I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season. The belief and drive I have inside only grows.”
Irving is in his fourth season with the Mavs after joining Dallas at the NBA trade deadline during the 2022-23 season. Since his arrival, the Mavs are 75-53 when Irving plays, and 42-75 when he’s not in the lineup, per ESPN. The Mavericks are 19-35 this season.
The nine-time All-Star guard previously played three-plus seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, two with the Boston Celtics, and his first six NBA seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which drafted him first overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Irving helped lead Cleveland to win the 2016 NBA Finals alongside LeBron James and Kevin Love.