Kyrie Irving’s NBA season over after ACL tear to continue Dallas Mavericks’ horror

NBA All-Star and Boomers hopeful Kyrie Irving has a torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the Dallas Mavericks’ season.

The Mavericks confirmed Irving’s diagnosis on Tuesday, a day after he was injured in the first quarter of Dallas’ 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

It comes three weeks after 32-year-old Irving flagged during the All Star weekend that he was “in the process” of trying to switch his eligibilty to play for Australia, where he was born.

Irving told reporters he wanted to play for the Boomers at the 2028 LA Olympics. He won a gold medal playing for the US at the Rio Olympics but was not on the American roster for the last two Olympics.

Th injury is the biggest setback in a season full of them for a Mavericks team that traded superstar Luka Doncic.

The Mavericks lost 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to a groin injury in his Dallas debut last month following the seismic trade that sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The presence of Irving was the biggest reason the Mavericks felt they could proceed with the controversial Davis-for-Doncic deal, a move that infuriated the Dallas fan base.

Now, Irving is out for the season, and would figure to be in the final stages of recovery when teams report for training camp for the 2025-26 season. Irving has a $US44 million player option for next season.

The injury could make it difficult for the defending Western Conference champions to get back to the playoffs. Dallas are 10th in the West, the final spot in the play-in tournament.

The Mavericks are just nine months removed from Doncic and Irving leading them to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years.

Dallas, who lost to Boston in five games, could become the fifth team to miss the playoffs the season after reaching the finals.

- with AAP