The Dallas Mavericks have hopes of contending next season, but that all depends on their star guard.
Over the past few months, the Mavericks have looked to retool into a title contender following the shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic to Los Angeles. With Anthony Davis leading the frontcourt, Dallas has made some moves elsewhere in the offseason, including the additions of Cooper Flagg and D’Angelo Russell.
As the team looks to compete in a tough Western Conference next season, it desperately needs some injury luck. While the Mavericks need guys like Davis to stay healthy, their hopes truly hinge on Kyrie Irving becoming healthy again.
After tearing his ACL in March, Irving has been a massive question mark in Dallas. While he’ll be back with the Mavericks next season, when he actually gets on the court again is uncertain.
In a recent stream, Irving responded to a fan asking if he would be back for the playoffs. Up to this point, the general sentiment has been that Irving should be back at some point in the regular season to gear up for a postseason run, but Irving wasn’t so sure.
Mavericks G Kyrie Irving on if he’ll be back by the NBA Playoffs:
“Don’t hold your breath on that…I just want to be back 150,000% better.” #MFFL
(🎥: @SwishAccess) pic.twitter.com/S7oY3G4ru0
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) July 6, 2025
“Don’t hold your breath on that,” Irving said. “It doesn’t mean that I won’t be back. I don’t want to make any predictions on when I’m gonna be back. I just want to be back 150,000% better.”
Irving’s hesitancy to commit to being ready for the playoffs likely doesn’t mean much, but there should be some concern for Dallas about his potential availability next season. In any case, the Mavericks will be much better whenever Irving can get back on the floor and start getting buckets again.
