Dallas, Texas, USA; LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) looks to pass as Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) defends during the first quarter during game four of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

James Harden names Mavericks star Kyrie Irving to all-time starting 5

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Aug 13, 2025 10:45 AM ET

LA Clippers star James Harden has played with some incredible players in his career, a lineup full of future Hall of Famers.

Harden was asked on a livestream with content creator Lacy to give the starting five of players he's played with. He named Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, himself, the newest Houston Rocket Kevin Durant, and another former MVP in Joel Embiid.

The backcourt is deep enough to have Chris Paul off the bench, who he is teammates with again in Los Angeles.

"That point guard position is crazy," Harden said. "You've got CP, you've got Russ and you've got Kyrie... I like that team. Small team that can run the floor, has handles, can shoot."

Kyrie has shown the ability to play off-ball when he was with Luka Doncic in Dallas, and he could likely still play off-ball in this situation.

It's a pretty impressive list, especially when you consider that he also played with Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and LaMarcus Aldridge late in their careers, and is getting ready to play with Bradley Beal. That's a long list of Hall of Famers, and it's a little amazing that he hasn't found a way to win a championship yet.

Kyrie Irving Still Recovering From ACL Surgery

Kyrie Irving tore his ACL against the Sacramento Kings in early March, and his exact returm is still up in the air, as of now.

The first report believed that Irving could be back in January or February of 2026, which seems a little ambitious. Irving is a smaller 33-year-old guard who relies on quickness and shiftiness. If he's returning that soon, considering he didn't have surgery until April, it would certainly feel like he's returning too soon.

However, a month ago, during the NBA Summer League, Nico Harrison was asked to give an update on Irving, saying, "Kyrie's ahead of schedule but we kind of knew he would be because of the way he attacks his rehab, and he's going 2, 3 times a day. But we don’t want him to rush it as much as he wants to rush it, but he's going to be fine.”

Mark Cuban is also confident in Irving's ability to return this season. "He’s gonna be careful, but it’s Kyrie, man, he lives to ball and he’s not gonna take time off if he doesn’t have to.”

Irving was careful to pump the brakes, saying before Cuban and Harrison, "I just don't want to make any predictions on when I'll be back. I just want to be back 150,000% better. I’m taking my time right now to really get healthy, I'm taking my time to get my body right, other parts or portions of my body... I just want to be back out there.”

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: