Is Kyrie Irving playing this season? ACL injury timeline, return updates on Mavericks star

The Dallas Mavericks reached the 2024 NBA Finals, and expectations were high heading into the 2024-25 season. Then, on February 2, the team traded star Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster deal.

While it initially seemed like Dallas was giving up on the season, the Dončić trade brought back key pieces and even sparked improved play from point guard Kyrie Irving. A month later, however, Irving suffered a devastating setback: on March 3, he tore his ACL. At the time, the Mavericks were still playoff contenders, but Irving’s injury derailed their momentum.

Dallas ultimately secured the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, defeated the Sacramento Kings in the first round of the play-in tournament, but fell to the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round, ending their postseason run.

As attention now turns to the 2025-26 season, questions remain not only about when Irving will return to the court but whether he will be able to play at all.

MORE: Why does Kyrie Irving always includes the word "Hélà" in social media posts?

Here is more on whether or not Irving will play in the 2025-2026 NBA season.

Is Kyrie Irving playing this season?

Irving is not expected to return to the court until the start of 2026, at the earliest. There were reports that Irving was progressing ahead of schedule, but head coach Jason Kidd shut them down near the start of the season. He specified that Irving was "on schedule" and not ahead. 

Irving was on a Twitch stream and said that, at his age, he knows he has to take his time returning and not rush back. He said, "There's no timetable for when I'm coming back, so please don't ask me when I'm coming back."

MORE NBA: Sporting News' expert predictions for the 2025-2026 season

Kyrie Irving injury

Irving tore his ACL in March of the 2024-2025 season. The typical return timeline for the injury is between nine and 12 months. If the veteran guard is indeed on the early end of his recovery, he could return in December. If he needs the full typical timeline given his age, Irving wouldn't be back on the court until March. 

MORE NBA: Ranking all 30 starting point guards for the 2025-2026 season

Mavericks PG depth chart

D'Angelo Russell

With Irving sidelined to start the 2025-2026 season, Dallas decided to bring in D'Angelo Russell through free agency. The guard was signed with a two-year, $13 million deal. He spent the 2024-2025 season between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets. On December 29, he was traded to Brooklyn with Maxwell Lewis and three second-round draft picks in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.

Over the entire season, Russell averaged 12.6 points with 5.1 assists in 58 games played. Russell was ranked No. 24 among the best point guards for the 2025-2026 NBA season by Sporting News' Steph Noh. 

Brandon Williams

Williams signed a two-way contract with Dallas in December 2023. He was re-signed in July 2024 to a new two-way deal and later received an extension for the 2025-26 season, with his salary jumping from $47,989 in 2024-25 to $2,318,724 for 2025-26.

The guard appeared in 33 games last season, averaging 8.3 points and 2.3 assists. He primarily came off the bench, starting just three games.

Dante Exum

Exum signed with Dallas in July 2023, but has been in the league since he was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Utah Jazz in the 2014 NBA Draft. Exum was a free agent after the 2024-2025 season, but was re-signed on a one-year deal for this season. He averaged 8.0 points and 2.8 assists in 20 games last year.