Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving is expected to miss the remainder of the 2024-25 NBA season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee, according to sources that spoke to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Irving hurt his knee on Monday night in the Mavericks’ 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings. Irving came up hobbling after accidentally stepping on the foot of Kings center Jonas Valanciunas. Despite lying on the court in pain for several minutes after suffering the injury, Irving got up and hit two free-throw attempts before leaving the game.
Breaking: Dallas Mavericks All-Star Kyrie Irving has suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/VEgTU6iF6S
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 4, 2025
In his 14th year out of Duke University, Irving was recently named to his ninth NBA All-Star Game, his first appearance since 2023.
Irving is currently 13th in the NBA in points per game (24.7). He was the Mavs’ third-leading scorer behind only Luka Dončić and Anthony Davis. Unlike Davis and Dončić, Irving has played in 50 games for Dallas and led the team in minutes per game (36.1).
A devastating blow to Irving and the Mavericks
A torn ACL is one of the most notoriously difficult injuries to come back from. Considering the recovery timetable is between six to 12 months, there’s a chance that Irving could miss more than half of the 2025-26 season. Factor in that Irving is 32 years old, and the prospects of him returning to form any time soon are slim.
This is undoubtedly the death knell for a disastrous 2024-25 season in Dallas. They traded away their franchise star for Anthony Davis, only for him to get injured in his first start as a member of the Mavericks. I’m sure the Mavs’ brass was holding out hope that Kyrie Irving would be able to steer the ship until Davis returned from injury, but that idea has now gone out the window.
Even if Anthony Davis returns from injury and plays like a superstar, the NBA is a two-star-minimum league. Unless you have a young LeBron James, your team cannot expect to find long-term success or get on any kind of roll in the playoffs with just one superstar. That’s why the Golden State Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler. It’s also why the San Antonio Spurs made a move to acquire De’Aaron Fox. They wanted to pair their franchise cornerstones (Stephen Curry and Victor Wembanyama) with players who could take some attention away from them, allowing them to play more freely.
A moment of pure determination for Kyrie Irving.
After suffering an injury, Kyrie was helped to the line to take his free throws before exiting the game.
He made both. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/hJDDRTDLg7
— NBA (@NBA) March 4, 2025
I actually think this injury could be the final straw that leads to general manager Nico Harrison being fired. NBA fans and analysts were already confused by the Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis trade, but at least there was a vision: you pair a great big man with a great point guard, and you ride them to an NBA Championship. That’s a smart plan that many other teams are currently following (Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, etc.).
Unfortunately, Nico Harrison did not take potential injuries into consideration, which is crazy when you realize that Anthony Davis has never played a full season in the NBA. On top of that, Kyrie Irving is a soon-to-be 33-year-old guard who relies heavily on being able to make quick cuts and using his agility to set up scoring opportunities. Of course an injury was eventually going to happen!
Just over a month removed from the Dončić-Davis trade, the Dallas Mavericks are now without both AD and Irving. The trade looked bad before, but it was somewhat palatable because there was a long-term plan in place for the remainder of the season. Now, the trade looks like a franchise-altering disaster that will inevitably cost Nico Harrison his job.
