The Dallas Mavericks made it official on Wednesday: Kyrie Irving will not return during the 2025–26 season as he continues recovering from the torn left ACL that ended his 2024–25 campaign and required surgery. The team said Irving is making “steady progress” in rehabilitation and will remain engaged with the group the rest of the way, with the expectation that his return comes in 2026–27.
On its face, it’s the kind of decision that frustrates fans who’ve been waiting all year for the “any day now” update. But it’s also the kind of decision that looks smarter the longer you stare at the calendar, and at the standings. Dallas entered the All-Star break buried in the West at 19–35, a record that has shifted the season from urgency to triage.
That context matters, because Irving’s calculus isn’t just medical; it’s practical. An ACL recovery timeline can be measured in months, but the quality of the return is measured in careers. Irving turns 34 next month, and this would be the first time he’s missed an entire NBA season. The Mavericks left the door cracked early in the year, but closing it now signals a choice to prioritize a complete rehab over a late-season push that, realistically, wouldn’t change the trajectory of a season already gone sideways.
It also matches what the franchise is saying publicly: they want Irving fully healthy for next season’s version of Dallas basketball, not a compromised cameo in this one. For a team that has spent months trying to survive without him, “next year” isn’t a cliché, it’s the plan. And for Irving, whose game depends on sudden stops, angled bursts, and balance on every cut, the safest bet is the boring one: take the full runway, finish the rehab, and come back when the body doesn’t need protecting.
