Kyrie Irving suffered a torn ACL Monday night, ending his season — and perhaps this era of Dallas Mavericks basketball.
Irving won’t play again in the 2024-25 season. Since the recovery time from a torn ACL can take nine to 12 months, the injury means that Irving likely won’t play for the majority of the 2025-26 season as well. Since he’s a free agent in 2026, Irving may have played his last game in a Mavericks uniform.
The Mavericks have been heavily relying on Irving’s offense since trading Luka Doncic one month ago. He was averaging 26.2 points per game since the trade and taking 20.1 shots per game while playing 36.6 minutes. The next leading scorer is Klay Thompson, at 14.2 points per game on 12.7 attempts.
Even with Irving’s heroics, the Mavericks were the NBA’s 23rd-best offense since the Doncic trade. In the last 10 games, they’re scoring 110.3 points per game, well below their season average of 114.7. It’s hard to tell who becomes the team’s primary scorer next — Thompson? P.J. Washington? 22-year-old Max Christie?
The Mavericks were already dealing with an injury to the big prize from the Doncic trade, Anthony Davis, who played less than one full game for Dallas before suffering an adductor strain.
After making the trade, Mavs GM Nico Harrison told ESPN he believed “defense wins championships,” and trading the 26-year-old Doncic for Davis, who turns 32 on March 11, was certainly a win-now move for Dallas.
But with $98 million in salary committed to Irving and Davis next season, Dallas doesn’t have a lot of flexibility to improve. Nor does it control its first-round picks from 2027-30.
The Mavericks went all-in on a Kyrie Irving-Anthony Davis duo. The result may be that they’re all out of championship chances.
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