By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving won’t play this season as the star guard for the Dallas Mavericks continues his recovery from a knee injury sustained almost a year ago.
The nine-time All-Star and the team made the announcement Wednesday, two days before the Mavericks return from the All-Star break. Dallas is on a nine-game losing streak, its longest in 28 years, and out of playoff contention.
“This decision wasn’t easy, but it’s the right one,” Irving said in a statement released by the team. “I am grateful for the Mavericks organization, my teammates and our fans for their continued support throughout the process. I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season. The belief and drive I have inside only grows.”
Irving tore the ACL in his left knee on March 3. This will be the first time in his 15-year career that the 33-year-old has missed an entire season.
The most significant injury of Irving’s career came a month after the Mavericks traded young superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package centered around older and oft-injured big man Anthony Davis. Just nine months earlier, Irving and Doncic led the Mavs to the NBA Finals.
Irving and Davis played together for just 2 1/2 quarters because Davis aggravated an abdominal injury in his Dallas debut and didn’t return before Irving went down in a 122-98 loss at home to Sacramento.
The Mavericks converted a 1.8% chance to win the draft lottery and picked former Duke standout Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall. But Irving, Davis and Flagg never played together.
Dallas sent Davis to Washington before the trade deadline, a deal that signaled the Mavericks were moving on from the ill-fated Doncic deal less than three months after firing general manager Nico Harrison in part because of that trade.
The Mavericks appear set to build around Flagg with help from Irving, believing the older of the two one-and-done stars from Duke can complement the new face of the franchise.
“Kyrie has the ultimate respect for Cooper,” said co-interim general manager Michael Finley, who was a two-time All-Star with the Mavericks a quarter-century ago. “He loves the kid’s work ethic. He loves the kid’s love for the game. And I think Kyrie’s embracing the role as a mentor to Cooper.”
The team said Irving would remain “actively engaged” with the team the rest of this season. Dallas is on its way to missing the playoffs for the second year in a row since the five-game loss to Boston in the NBA Finals.
“And I wanted to send a huge shoutout to ALL of my brothers and sisters out there who’ve torn their ACL or gotten injured doing what they love to do every day,” Irving said in the team’s statement. “THANK YOU for the inspiration. No fear!”
Before the injury, Irving thrived in two years with the Mavericks following a trade that ended a tumultous three-plus seasons in Brooklyn. There was plenty of drama in Boston before that. Irving was the No. 1 pick by Cleveland in 2011 and won a championship there with LeBron James in 2016.
Irving has averaged 23.7 points and and 5.6 assists per game over 779 games while shooting almost 40% from 3-point range and 89% on free throws.
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