Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving will not return during the 2025-26 season as he continues recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in March 2025, the team announced Wednesday.
The Mavericks said in a statement that Irving “has made steady progress in rehabilitation and will remain actively engaged with the team through the remainder of the season.”
Irving said in a statement shared by the Mavericks: “This decision wasn’t easy, but it’s the right one… I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season.”
Player agent Shetellia Riley Irving told ESPN’s Shams Charania the decision to sit out the rest of the season was “about Kyrie being 1000% when he comes back and giving himself the best chance to chase a championship next season.”
The team noted that Irving will continue “rehabilitation under the supervision of the Mavericks’ medical and performance staff for the remainder of the season.”
Irving suffered his injury on March 3, 2025 and underwent ACL repair surgery on March 27.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd had previously expressed much more optimism about Irving’s return timeline, telling The Athletic’s Christian Clark in November that he hoped to see Irving back on the court during the calendar year 2025.
As of his latest update on Jan. 22, Kidd told reporters Irving’s return would “probably be after the All-Star break.”
“He wants to get back. He wants to play. But when you’re coming back from an ACL, it’s a time thing,” Kidd said about Irving on Jan. 22 (h/t Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News). “Mentally and physically, you want to be 100 percent.”
The Mavericks are coming out of the All-Star break ranked No. 12 in the West with a 19-35 record after already selling at the deadline by shipping Anthony Davis out to the Washington Wizards.
Sitting Irving for the rest of the campaign could both give the Mavericks a better chance at having him at full health when he returns and give the team a better shot a high odds in the upcoming NBA draft lottery.
The Mavs currently hold two first-round picks in the 2026 draft, both their own and one from the Oklahoma City Thunder. The franchise could be hoping to use those picks to build a more competitive team around Cooper Flagg and Irving next season.
Irving has averaged 25.5 points across two and a half seasons with the Mavericks, throughout which he has been regularly limited by injury. The Mavs have gone 42-75 when Irving isn’t the lineup since he joined the team in February 2023, per ESPN.
