Kyrie Irving averaged 24.7 points in 2024-25 before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in March.
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Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving declined his player option, signing a three-year, $119 million extension with Dallas, per multiple reports.
The heart & soul: Our guy Kai 🫶@KyrieIrving // #MFFL pic.twitter.com/dlXQJHUmwD
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) July 7, 2025
Irving’s second full season with the Mavericks and 14th in the NBA was cut short last March by a torn ACL in his left knee. He could return as soon as January of 2026, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports, and the reported deal aligns Irving’s time with Dallas that of co-star Anthony Davis.
Davis has three years remaining on his contract, with a player option that now will be the same season as Irving in 2027-28.
Irving, 33, averaged 24.7 points and 4.6 assists during a tumultuous campaign that saw the Mavericks trade franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić to the Lakers in a deal including Anthony Davis.
Whenever he does return, Irving will join a roster that is widely expected to be bolstered by the addition of Duke star Cooper Flagg with the top pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft.
Kyrie Irving will decline his $43 million player option to sign a new 3-year deal with the #Mavs worth $119 million, a person familiar with the negotiations confirms. The third year is a player option.
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) June 25, 2025
The 33-year-old Irving came to the Mavericks in a 2023 trade after a tumultuous tenure in Brooklyn. The idea then was to pair him with Dončić, and a year later the duo led Dallas to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years. Boston beat the Mavs in five games last June.
The stunning decision to send Dončić to the Lakers elevated Irving’s status, although Davis’ championship pedigree with the Lakers essentially put the two on even footing.
Davis went down with a groin injury in his Dallas debut, and before he could come back, Irving sustained his knee injury about a month after the Doncic trade.
Irving also is a Duke alum, as is young center Dereck Lively II. Once the nine-time All-Star returns from his injury, perhaps in December or January, all three among Irving, Lively and Flagg figure to be in the starting lineup if they are healthy.
Skeptics were plentiful when the Mavs traded for Irving, who wanted out of Brooklyn after 3 1/2 seasons of disappointments on the court and plenty of drama off it.
Earlier in the season when he was dealt to Dallas, Irving was suspended by the Nets for what became eight games after the team said it was dismayed by his repeated failure to “unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.”
That came shortly after Irving refused to issue the apology that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sought for posting a link to an antisemitic work on his Twitter feed. Irving also wound up losing his long relationship with Nike as part of the massive fallout from what he tweeted and the reactions that followed.
Irving also missed much of the 2021-22 season because he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which left him essentially ineligible to play in Brooklyn’s home games for much of the season because of New York City rules put in place in response to the pandemic.
There has been no such drama in Dallas, and Irving has enjoyed a resurgence in his career. He was on an expiring contract when the Mavs traded for him. During the 2023 offseason, Irving stayed with Dallas on a three-year deal with a player option in the final season. Now he’s about to do it again.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report
