Kyrie Irving waited nearly 600 days for his return to the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks didn't keep him waiting any longer for his welcome-back basket.
Irving got a reverse layup on the game's opening possession Sunday night, setting the tone for him scoring a team-high 17 points in the Mavericks' 132-115 preseason win over the Houston Rockets in Macao, China.
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It was Irving's first game action since he tore the ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025.
“It was just impressive,” Dallas coach Dusty May told reporters in a postgame news conference. “His physical condition, his mental condition, and then — I've said it from the first time I watched him in a workout — he's an artist. He's a jazz musician. ... I didn’t expect him to play this well after being off so long.”
Irving shot 6 for 13 in just under 22 minutes, plus he had three assists and two rebounds. Dallas won the opening tap, and reigning rookie of the year Cooper Flagg set up Irving on the right wing. Irving didn't hesitate, driving toward the baseline and then scoring with the reverse.
The Mavericks' bench immediately started celebrating, and the roar of the crowd in China — where the Rockets are one of the most popular teams, mainly because of Chinese superstar, Rockets great and Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming — was noticeable as well.
“Grateful that Dusty called the first play for me,” Irving said. “Had my mind made up, just to attack. ... I was imagining how it was going to go, dreaming about how it was going to go and just glad that I got that out the way. Just incredibly grateful for my teammates as well and their support and just seeing them rise up off the bench to celebrate me as well, that always feels good. And God is truly the greatest. So just being able to perform at a high level, that felt amazing.”
Irving missed all of last season, so it had been just over 20 months since he last played in a game.
The nine-time All-Star was averaging 24.7 points for Dallas when he got hurt late in the 2024-25 season, and anything close to that this season would surely be a welcome boost to a franchise that went to the NBA Finals in 2024 but missed each of the last two postseasons.
“It's always great to see somebody coming from the injury that Ky came from to get back on the court,” Houston guard Marcus Smart said. “I know we compete, but you want to compete against the best and you want everybody to be out there. For him to be back out there, it was great to see. He looked good, but we expected him to look good. Very happy for him.”
Irving played eight minutes in the first quarter, a little more than eight in the second quarter and returned for the first 5 1/2 minutes of the third quarter before getting the rest of the game off.
Irving is enormously popular in China, a place he has visited many times over the years and plans to again in 2027 as part of his annual world tour. He thanked fans who showed up outside the Mavs' hotel to show support or sent good-luck messages on social media.
“It's definitely a lot of emotions that were going into it,” Irving said. “Looking forward to getting back home and continuing to carry on what we learned here from each other.”
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