Kyrie Irving will return to the court with the Dallas Mavericks against the Houston Rockets in China this weekend, more than 19 months after a torn ACL put him on the shelf — and some 10 months after suffering a previously undisclosed calf injury that the nine-time All-Star says derailed his efforts to return in the 2025-26 NBA season.
New Mavericks head coach Dusty May told reporters in Macau that Irving will play in one of two games scheduled as part of the NBA’s preseason exhibition trip to China, although he was not yet sure whether it would be on Friday or Sunday.
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“We will have limited space,” May told reporters, according to Clark of The Christian Athletic. “Even with Kyrie, he plays one game here. We still haven’t decided which one. From what the body feels, especially with the ball and things like that. It’s still ineffective at this time. They’re working on different line combinations. But as we are now, we’re still not sure.”
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After such a long layoff, Cornelius says he “feels like a little kid in the candy store” as his return is awaited.
“For me personally, it’s just about my way out, and his mental aspect,” Irving said, according to Kevin Gray of DLLS Sports. “Getting back on the floor, putting on my uniform, hearing my name being called – it feels like a distant memory.”
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The preseason event against the Rockets will represent Irving’s first live game action since March 3, 2025, when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a basket against the Sacramento Kings. He was playing well before the injury, averaging 28.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 1 block per game in the previous 10 contests, shouldering almost the entire heavy load for a Mavericks team that had just traded away cornerstone Luka Dončić.
Kyrie Irving did not play in an NBA game after tearing the ACL in his left knee in March 2025. (AP/Tony Gutierrez).
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Irving returns to the Dallas team he left behind — a new head coach in May, a new president of basketball operations in Masai Ujiri, a new general manager in Mike Schmitz, and a. new the franchise’s reigning Rookie of the Year cornerback Cooper Flagg. The two previous Nos. 1 overall draft pick from Duke yet to share the court in the actual game, while Irving will miss the entire 2025-26 campaign – a longer-than-expected absence was extended, he told reporters in China while rehabilitating a calf injury.
“I had a moment in December where I had a setback,” Smith said. “That put me out for about eight weeks. I had a calf strain — a Grade 2 calf strain — that was just crazy, and it kind of pushed my timeline even further. So I had to take time to heal myself.”
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A Grade 2 calf injury has caused a “partial tear” of the calf muscle, according to injury expert Jeff Stotts at Clothing Street. The Mavericks did not disclose Irving’s injury last season before officially ruling him out for the rest of the season on February 18.
“Irving has made steady progress in his rehabilitation and will remain active with the team for the remainder of the season,” the Mavericks said in a team statement announcing their shutdown.
The NBA saw calf strain last year, with superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama and Ja Morant sidelined for several weeks by calf injuries, and Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton playing with a torn Achilles tendon with a strained calf.
“The concern is that calf injuries can lead to Achilles injuries, and this is all due to incomplete rehabilitation in the calf and favoring one leg over the other,” Dr. Richard Ferkel of the Southern Orthopedic Institute told Yahoo Sports contributing writer Tom Haberstroh last year. “Teams are much more conservative in returning players from calf injuries.”
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The Mavericks were 10 games under .500 entering January, 13th in the Western Conference. A month later, when they fell to 19-31, they traded All-Star big man Anthony Davis — the primary deal for the often-injured return of Dončić — to the Washington Wizards. Two weeks later, Irving was officially shut down for the season.
“This is not an easy decision, but it is the right one,” Cicero said at the time. “I’m grateful to the Mavericks organization, my teammates and our fans for their continued support throughout the process. I’m looking forward to coming back stronger next season. The confidence and drive inside me is only growing.”
Dallas would go 7-21 with the NBA’s worst net record after the All-Star break, finishing 26-56 — the franchise’s worst record since 2017-18 and the second-worst this century. The Mavericks would receive the No. 9 pick in the June 2026 NBA Draft selecting Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr.
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“I think the offseason gave me that time to just think and push my body to the limits that I knew were smart,” Irving told reporters in China.
Irving profiles as one of the most interesting returning players in the NBA this season — a high-volume, high-efficiency scorer and ball-handler, whose arrival workload will lighten Flagg’s game and help the young, revamped Mavericks roster begin to climb back up to the Western Conference standings.
“I’m ready to go out there and try to kick something,” Irving told reporters at his media conference last month. “I know that some questions or concerns about where I’m going are inevitable. […] This is what I have recently in the league, and almost everyone wants to see. So I’m looking forward to being able to lace up my shoes and get on the court with my teammates and show everyone what I’ve got again.”