The Dallas Mavericks will be without Kyrie Irving for the rest of the season after the guard suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury on Monday night, Afrosport reports.
Irving tore his ACL in the first quarter of the Mavericks’ 122-98 home loss to the Sacramento Kings.
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
The 32-year-old, who was fouled by DeMar DeRozan on a drive to the basket, stepped on Jonas Valanciunas’ foot before landing awkwardly on his left leg, with his knee hyperextending before he fell to the floor.
He managed to make both free throws to pull Dallas to 28-13 before being helped off the court by team trainers as tears rolled down his eyes. He exited the game with just seven points, one assist, and a rebound.
“That’s just who, I mean, Kai’s a tough guy,” Kidd said. “I asked him as they were taking him off the court, ‘Are you good if you leave without shooting? You’re ruled out.’ So they took him to the free-throw line, and he shot the free throws and then we got him out.”
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
Irving has appeared in 50 of the Mavericks’ 62 games this season, and his injury comes at a terrible period for the team, who are missing Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, and Caleb Martin.
The nine-time All-Star has averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game for the Mavs this season, while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.1% from beyond the arc.
Dallas fell to 32-30 after Monday’s defeat and is three-and-a-half games ahead of 11th seed Phoenix Suns (28-33) in the Western Conference standings. They are also four games ahead of the 12th seed Portland Trail Blazers.
