By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Dallas Mavericks just had their worst nightmare of the 2024-2025 NBA season.
Their superstar point guard, Kyrie Irving, is officially out for the remainder of the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on his left knee during their 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 4, 2025.
A torn ACL typically takes six to nine months of recovery, but former NBA players who dealt with this kind of injury spent one full year before suiting up for their franchises.
Irving went down in the 2:35 mark of the first quarter after attempting a coast-to-coast layup against the tight interior defense of Sacramento.
After getting sandwiched by DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas, Irving split the double team with a power hop move but his left knee bent awkwardly and immediately fell on the floor.
Irving quickly grabbed his left knee, pointed at Dallas’ conditioning staff, and was in disbelief. He had to be helped out by his teammates to get back to his feet, but didn’t put any weight on his left leg.
He then received a warm round of applause and appreciation from the Dallas fans and the Sacramento bench when he headed to the free-throw line to shoot a pair of charities. Irving made both of his shots but went to the locker room afterward and didn’t return to the game.
Before exiting the game, Irving was bound for a stellar performance after already tallying seven points, one rebound, and an assist, in nine minutes of playing time.
“The injuries we’ve had this season, guys are trying to hold it together to get other bodies back. And then it just seems every time we get close to getting someone back, someone else goes down,” said Dallas head coach Jason Kidd.
Irving has played 50 games this season and is averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. The Mavericks are currently sitting at the 10th spot of the Western Conference with a 32-30 win-loss record.
Dallas is eyeing a final push to get to the playoffs and is only a win behind the Minnesota Timberwolves who are sitting in the ninth spot.
Hours after his injury, Irving went live on his official Instagram account and said: “Just want to hop on here and thank everybody. This one hurts, for sure. It’s painful to deal with this at this point. I’ll just stay positive. I have breath in my lungs, I have a chance to live out my day, doing things that I would like to do. I appreciate you guys tapping in.”
