Report: Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving suffers torn ACL, out for remainder of season

Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving is set to miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL against the Sacramento Kings on Monday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.

The injury occurred in the first quarter of the 122-98 loss to the Kings.

Irving was fouled by DeMar DeRozan on a drive to the basket, and his right foot landed on the foot of the Kings’ Jonas Valanciunas. He lost his balance and then landed awkwardly on his left leg while his knee appeared to hyperextend before he fell to the floor.

After he was hurt, Irving grabbed his leg and remained on the floor for multiple minutes. Injured forward Anthony Davis was among those helping Irving to the locker room before Kidd spoke to Irving, who then returned to take two free throws. After converting both to pull Dallas within 23-18, Irving was helped into the tunnel, and the Mavs quickly ruled him out for the rest of the night.

A nine-time All-Star, Irving came into Monday’s game averaging 25.0 points per game and has become Dallas’s primary outside shooting threat since the trade of superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 2.

In all, Irving’s 14th year in the NBA saw him average 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 47.3 per cent from the field and 40.1 per cent from three-point range over 50 games.

Since the trade, Irving was going into Monday’s game averaging 39.3 minutes per game, the highest mark in the NBA in that span.

Irving could potentially become an unrestricted free agent this summer should he choose to decline a $43.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season. However, the torn ACL will now likely force him to miss a chunk of next year’s campaign.

The Mavericks were already playing without Davis — who left his only game for Dallas on Feb. 8 with a groin injury after being acquired for Doncic — as well as Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II and P.J. Washington Jr.

As it stands, the Mavericks are currently 10th in the Western Conference with a 32-30 record and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. They’re holding onto the final Play-In spot and are three-and-a-half games above the 11th-seed Phoenix Suns.

— With files from the Associated Press

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