Mavericks star Kyrie Irving underwent surgery to repair a broken left hand on Tuesday, which puts him in doubt for the start of the 2024-2025 NBA season.
The team announced that the eight-time All-Star suffered the injury during training earlier this month.
Even though the start of the NBA season is less than three months away, there is hope he will recover in time for the start of the season, ESPN says.
“While the Mavericks did not provide a timetable for Irving to be cleared to return to basketball activity, sources expressed optimism that he would recover in time to participate in training camp in about 2 1/2 months,” ESPN reported.
It was Kyrie’s first full season with the Mavs and he made it count, logging 58 games with an average of 25.6 points, five rebounds and 5.2 assists on 49.7/41.1/90.5 shooting splits.
The 32-year-old played a pivotal role in the Mavericks’ run to the NBA Finals.
However, his production in the Finals dipped. In those five games, he averaged 19.8 points and five assists on 41.4 percent shooting from the field overall and 27.6 percent from behind the arc.
Irving has been busy in the offseason, reportedly playing a role in luring Golden State legend Klay Thompson to Dallas.
Thompson will reportedly be the Mavericks’ starting small forward during the 2024-25 season, which no doubt helped him make the leap as well.
NBA insider Shams Charania this week confirmed that Thompson will be a “guaranteed starter” and receive “guaranteed minutes” with the Mavs during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
Having the skillset of Luka Doncic, Irving, and Thompson on the Mavericks could prove to be a winning combination.
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