Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to repair the ACL tear in his left knee, the team announced on its website.
The procedure had been expected since Irving was diagnosed with a torn ACL on March 4 after sustaining that knee injury one day earlier. Typically, ACL surgery is delayed by a few weeks in order to allow the swelling and inflammation in the player’s knee to subside to some extent.
The Mavericks’ announcement doesn’t provide a specific recovery timeline for Irving, simply stating that updates on his status will be provided as appropriate. However, the start of the NBA’s 2025/26 season is less than seven months away and the recovery period for this sort of surgery typically extends beyond that, so it seems relatively safe to assume the star guard won’t be ready for opening night in the fall.
Irving, who turned 33 on Sunday, holds a player option worth nearly $43MM for the 2025/26 season. If the Mavs are interested in working out a longer-term deal while he recovers from his knee surgery, he’ll have multiple contract options, including declining that option to sign a new contract or exercising the option and extending off of it.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Southwest Division, the Pelicans announced in a press release that wing Trey Murphy also went under the knife on Wednesday in order to repair the torn labrum in his right shoulder.
Murphy sustained his injury, which included a partial tear of his rotator cuff, on March 17, ending his season. He becomes the second Pelicans starter to undergo shoulder surgery already this year, joining teammate Herbert Jones.
According to the Pelicans’ release, Murphy is expected to make a full recovery following his surgery. But the team doesn’t specify whether or not he’ll be available for the start of the 2025/26 season, stating – like the Mavs with Irving – that further details will be “appropriately provided.”
As we wrote last week, Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray‘s recovery from an Achilles tear is expected to extend well into ’25/26 and it remains possible that Murphy and/or Jones will also have their season debuts delayed next fall. While it’s too early to pinpoint a return date for either player at this point, it will be worth keeping an eye out for any updates on their respective rehab processes this spring and summer.
Murphy, coming off a breakout year in which he averaged 21.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game on .454/.361/.887 shooting, signed a four-year, $112MM rookie scale extension last fall. That contract will go into effect this July.
Don’t see Kyrie coming back till after all star game.
Means Mavs have to decide on a starting PG. if they want to make playoffs next year. With Kyrie eligible for a new contract next year. I wonder if they sign him or trade him. Mavs have some heavy thinking to do. Just never stops for Nico. I wonder if he survives this. And what does Jason Kidd think ….. doesn’t any get easier ?? huh