The Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving might be retiring earlier than expected following his health concerns and injury issues. The Mavericks headed into the 2023-24 NBA season with a star duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic on their roster. The Mavericks are still looking for a third star and some decent players to increase the depth of the squad. But they are likely to contend for the title even without making any changes as well.
Luka is the Mavericks’ franchise player, but Irving is not less important either. The Mavericks had some ups and downs in the past few years. They made it to the playoffs in 2020, but they were not that great in 2021. They were the Western Conference finalists in 2022, but they could not squeeze into the playoffs last season. The Mavericks have put their faith in the two stars, but recently, their hopes took a huge blow when Irving started missing games due to injuries. Here is all the information you need about Kyrie Irving and his career in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks.
When did Kyrie Irving come into the picture for the Mavericks?
The Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving from the Nets in February 2023. That brought some excitement to the fans courtesy of Irving’s individual brilliance, but the results told a different story. The Mavericks lost 12 out of 20 games they played in that time span.
Dallas Mavericks Injury Update 🏥
• Jaden Hardy sprained his ankle today
• Josh Green fell on his back yesterday
• Luka Dončić is still out with a calf injury
• Kyrie Irving participated in all of practice, Dante Exum shared the backcourt with him. pic.twitter.com/0x58mjmqgY— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) October 17, 2023
Kyrie Irving: Last season’s performance and career
The eight-time all-star played 20 games for the Mavericks last season and averaged 26.9 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds per game while shooting 39.2 percent from beyond the arc. He charted similar stats for the Nets in the 40 games he played for them. He averages 23.4 points in 673 games he has played in his career.
Would be a big loss for the Mavericks to start their season with a Luka Doncic injury
However, I expect him to play. Unless the injury is really bad, and they want to be careful, I think Doncic will want to play alongside Kyrie Irving for their first game of the season #MFFL https://t.co/uS1Dw6whcK
— Joshua Unangst (@JoshuaUnangst13) October 24, 2023
Is Kyrie Irving going to retire due to Injuries?
The 31-year-old missed the game against the Timberwolves in Abu Dhabi and then the game against Real Madrid in Spain. The player is said to be suffering from some left groin soreness and is likely to recover when the regular season starts. The Mavericks are trying to avoid future injuries, and it is in no way related to Irving’s retirement.
Will the Mavericks be a serious threat to the title? How will they line up? We’ll keep you updated.
