Kyrie Irving suffered a serious knee injury during a game against the Sacramento Kings on March 4. The 2016 NBA champion seemed to immediately understand how serious his injury was. He broke down in tears on the court and needed help from the medical team to leave the court afterward.
There are concerns that Irving has ruptured his ACL, an injury that has ruined the careers of many world-famous athletes. The 2024/25 season is over for Irving and beyond, his career could be greatly affected.
The Dallas Mavericks were left stunned when Kyrie Irving went down with this injury. However, doctors brought good news to the team at the American Airlines Center.
Derek Ochiai, a sports medicine physician and Virginia’s top board-certified arthroscopic hip surgeon, believes Irving’s injury is not as serious as initially feared.
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How serious is Kyrie Irving’s injury?
Irving is 32 years old, on the other side of his career, but still healthy enough to make a full recovery.
“32 is not too old. There are many different types of ACL reconstructions,” Dr. Ochiai told Sporting News. “They have all been shown to be highly effective. The rehabilitation process is grueling and difficult. But in many cases, their knees return to the way they were before the injury.”
Several NBA players have also come back strong from ACL tears, including Kristaps Porzingis, Dejounte Murray, Zach LaVine, Kyle Lowry and Spencer Dinwiddie. Although these names were injured much younger than Irving, Dr. Ochiai believes the Australian guard can recover like them.
Next steps in Kyrie Irving’s recovery
Irving will not have ACL surgery right away. Typically, doctors will wait until the swelling in the injured area has gone down and range of motion has been restored before surgery, which takes four to six weeks.
Dr. Ochiai explained that Irving will have to continue to be patient immediately after surgery.
“No matter how strong you are, you need a biological healing process,” he says. “Most people’s bodies are going to be tight and weak after surgery. Even if you try to maintain your strength, it’s not going to be the same. You’re going to have muscle atrophy and have to recover.”
Irving will undergo physical therapy for several hours a day. The length of full rehabilitation can vary greatly from person to person. Optimistically, Irving could be ready by the time the 2026 playoffs begin, assuming the Dallas Mavericks advance to the next round.
“It can take a year, even a year and a half,” said Dr. Ochiai. “Everybody is different. You can have two different pro athletes with the same injury. One can come back in a year and almost win an NFL championship. The other can take a year and a half, two years and never get back to his best. It’s not because he’s lazy or anything, it’s just that everyone’s body is different.”
In the best case scenario, Irving could return from the 2026 playoffs, or as late as the 2026/27 season. And if he recovers well, Irving will still be at a high level when he returns at age 34.
