Kyrie Irving tore his left ACL on March 3, 2025, missed the entire 2025-26 season while he rehabbed, and is now “fully recovered,” according to ESPN insider Shams Charania — with the Dallas Mavericks planning to have him back as their starting point guard when the 2026-27 season opens. The current attention reflects a cluster of offseason developments rather than one new trade or injury: an August 17 report described Irving as fully recovered, and August 25 coverage focused on his workout, Dallas’ plan to start him alongside Cooper Flagg and continuing trade speculation.
Key facts
- Injury: Left ACL torn March 3, 2025; missed the entire 2025-26 season.
- Recovery: ESPN’s Shams Charania says Irving is “fully recovered” and “100%”; no official medical clearance has been made public.
- Mavericks’ plan: Start Irving at point guard for 2026-27, paired with rookie Cooper Flagg.
- Trade talk: Miami Heat rumors have run all summer; Dallas says it plans to start the season with Irving, while rival teams continue to speculate about his future.
- Season opener: October 21 at the Houston Rockets; home opener October 24 vs. The San Antonio Spurs.
- Contract: About $39.5 million this season, with a $42.4 million player option for 2027-28.
- Trade deadline: February 11, 2027.
Recovery reports pile up
The recovery reports have piled up through August.
What people are saying:
- Charania said on The Stephen A. Smith Show that Irving is “100%” and fully part of Dallas’s plans for the coming season.
- Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., who played pickup basketball with Irving around August 25, described how well Irving was moving: “I was hooping with him yesterday, and this is off of his ACL. That dude was so cold, bro. I couldn’t believe how he was moving out there.”
- A separate workout video that went viral around the same time showed Irving hitting long-range three-pointers on the surgically repaired knee, though reports described the clip as shooting jumpers, not cuts or full-speed basketball movements.
No official Mavericks or NBA medical clearance has been made public confirming the recovery.
Pairing with Cooper Flagg
Dallas’s plan is built around pairing Irving with rookie Cooper Flagg, the team’s No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft and the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year. Under new head coach Dusty May, the Mavericks have told other teams they intend to start the season with Irving at the point to see how he and Flagg play together. That is still a plan rather than a result — the two have not yet shared the floor in a game.
Season timeline
NBA training camps open September 29, 2026. Dallas’s regular season begins on the road:
- October 21 — season opener at the Houston Rockets
- October 24 — home opener vs. The San Antonio Spurs
Irving has not named a specific target date for his own return to game action beyond “start of the season.”
Miami trade speculation
Trade speculation has followed Irving all summer, centered on the Miami Heat. The rumors picked up after Miami traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo on July 6, 2026, and then signed Klay Thompson in August following his buyout from Dallas. One outlet floated a scenario sending Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell to Dallas for Irving, but that was explicitly described as a hypothetical mock trade, not a reported offer from either team. The Mavericks have publicly rejected trade interest and say they plan to start the season with Irving at the point.
Will Dallas trade him anyway?
That has not fully quieted rival front offices. Marc Stein has reported that rival executives are watching whether Dallas holds its stance once the season is under way and the February 11, 2027 trade deadline gets closer. Part of their skepticism is simple math: Irving is 34, and Flagg is just starting his career.
The rest is about money — Irving is making roughly $39.5 million this season, and he holds a $42.4 million player option for the season after that.
Irving’s most recent public comment on retirement itself dates to Mavericks Media Day in September 2025, when he said the idea “comes to my mind more often than you think” but that he still considers himself a few years away from seriously weighing it; no newer statement on the subject has surfaced since.