Kyrie Irving will miss the remainder of the season as he continues his recovery from knee surgery, the Dallas Mavericks announced Wednesday. Irving has not played this season after undergoing surgery last March to repair a torn left ACL and is now targeting a return during the 2026–27 season.

Irving suffered the injury on March 3 in a game against the Sacramento Kings when he accidentally stepped on the foot of center Jonas Valanciunas and went down in visible pain. He briefly stayed on the floor to attempt free throws before being helped off the court at American Airlines Center. Subsequent imaging revealed structural damage in his left knee, and Irving underwent successful surgery on March 26 in New York.

While Irving will not return to game action this season, there remains optimism within the organization that he could practice later in the year, allowing him to begin developing on court chemistry with highly touted rookie Cooper Flagg. Irving, who turns 34 in March, also missed the final 20 games of last season after sustaining the injury.

Since Irving joined Dallas during the 2022–23 season, the Mavericks are 75–53 when he is in the lineup and just 42–75 without him, underscoring his importance to the team’s offense. Without their star guard this season, Dallas has struggled badly on that end of the floor, ranking 27th in points scored per 100 possessions and sitting fourth in the Southwest Division with a 19–35 record entering the post All Star break. They are seven games back of the final play in spot in the Western Conference.

Dallas effectively shifted into rebuild mode earlier this month by trading Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards for salary relief and draft capital, a move that signaled lowered expectations for the current season. Irving, who signed a three year, $119 million contract last July, is owed $39.5 million next season and holds a $42.4 million player option for 2027–28 as he prepares to enter his 15th NBA season.