Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison speaks to the media at the Dallas Mavericks Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Nico Harrison provides injury update for Mavericks star Kyrie Irving

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Jul 14, 2025 8:27 PM ET

Kyrie Irving is in the process of recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in March against the Sacramento Kings. Initial reports indicated that he's aiming for a return in either January or February, but that could be optimistic given that he didn't have surgery until April.

Although Irving recently said he's not going to guarantee that he'll be back before the playoffs, saying he wants to make sure he's fully healthy before he's back on the court, Mark Cuban said he expects Irving to be back because "he lives to ball."

Nico Harrison made an appearance at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas for the team's third game against the Charlotte Hornets. They had already pulled Cooper Flagg, but he was still evaluating the rest of the roster that hasn't performed well against the Hornets or San Antonio Spurs.

NBA TV pulled him aside for a quick interview, where they asked for an update on Kyrie Irving, and he once again believes Irving is ahead of schedule.

"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.”

Nico Harrison on Kyrie Irving’s injury:

“Kyrie's ahead of schedule but we kind of knew he would be because of the way he attacks his rehab... But we don’t want him to rush it as much as he wants to rush it.”

(via @NBATV)
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Dallas signed D'Angelo Russell to be a stop-gap for Irving until he returns. Russell will need to bounce back from a disappointing 2024-25 season, but he'll be flanked by a talented roster featuring Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Cooper Flagg, and more.

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

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