Basketball-Dallas Mavericks' Irving excited to play again after lengthy injury absence

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving said on Thursday ​he was excited to return to game action ​after a 19-month absence, with the ‌nine-times All-Star ​set to make his comeback at the NBA China Games in Macau following his recovery from a torn ACL.

The 34-year-old American tore his ACL in March ‌2025 during the first quarter of the Mavericks' loss to the Sacramento Kings. He stayed on the court to make two free throws before leaving the game in tears. Irving missed the final 20 games of the 2024-25 season after the ‌injury. He averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 50 games that season, before ‌also sitting out the 2025-26 campaign.

"Conditioning is going great," Irving told reporters ahead of the pre-season game against the Houston Rockets on Friday. "I feel great. Just going through the rigours of just the contact and being in this combative sport. "Just practices, games within practice that we ⁠have, or ​scrimmages, just really testing ⁠out where I am. I feel like I'm still unlocking things in my instincts and my proprioception and just getting used to just ⁠being able to play high-level basketball consistently.

"Practices do wonders but the game is, it can't be recreated. So I'm excited to strap ​up my boots, get out there, throw on my uniform, play in front of these great fans ⁠here, and continue to have a strong pre-season." Irving's return comes as the Mavericks continue to reshape their identity following the blockbuster trade that sent ⁠Slovenian ​Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025.

The franchise is now building around reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, with first-year coach Dusty May at ⁠the helm after his national title-winning stint at Michigan. "I'm really excited to be able to share the court with ⁠Kyrie. He's obviously a special, ⁠special player," Flagg, 19, said.

The Mavericks face the Rockets again on Sunday in the second of two pre-season games in Macau. Dallas finished 12th in the Western Conference last ‌season and did ‌not qualify for the playoffs.

(Writing by Pearl Josephine Nazare in ​Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)