Although the Dallas Mavericks faced heavy scrutiny in trading superstar Luka Doncic to acquire Anthony Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers last season, some great luck and intriguing moves will make up for a highly anticipated 2025-26 season.
Dallas signed guard D’Angelo Russell in free agency and was fortunate to get the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, selecting Cooper Flagg out of Duke University, to add to an already impressive Mavericks front court.
With all this being said, the Mavericks will still be without guard Kyrie Irving, despite signing him to a three-year, $119 million extension this offseason. Irving is recovering from an ACL tear he sustained on March 3.
Kyrie Irving shows convincing progress while recovering from ACL tear
Irving’s injury took place at an unfortunate time, and while newly acquired forward Anthony Davis was battling injuries of his own, the Mavericks’ pursuit of an NBA championship started to deteriorate.
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Dallas failed to make it out of the Play-In, and after finishing the season with a 39-43 record, the future for the Mavericks was in question.
Although Irving is most likely not going to be able to start the upcoming season playing, his recovery from the ACL tear seems to be going well. A video of the 33-year-old working out was released.
KYRIE IRVING YEAR 15 LOADING… 🤩 pic.twitter.com/er6cPr2Ymt
— Overtime (@overtime) August 31, 2025
Without Irving, it will be interesting to see how head coach Jason Kidd will adjust to begin a new season. All eyes will be on rookie Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis, and the rest of the team in hopes of a better outcome than last season.
