Irving had to deal with the after-effects of the Luka Doncic trade, doing his part to keep the Mavericks on the right path before going down with a season-ending ACL injury in March. A year after leading Dallas to the finals, Irving was forced to watch from the sidelines as his team was eliminated in the NBA play-in.

Point guard Kyrie Irving offered a response rooted in patience to a question about whether he would return from his ACL tear in time for the playoffs.

Kyrie Irving has been out of action since March 2025, as he suffered a torn ACL in a game against the Sacramento Kings. The Dallas Mavericks guard was leading the team after their midseason decision to trade Luka Doncic, but went down just a month after the team made that deal.