Kyrie Irving’s season has come to a sudden end.
The Dallas Mavericks star suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during Monday’s 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings, ESPN reported Tuesday.
Irving’s leg buckled as he drove to the basket in the first quarter, a play on which he drew a foul. He did not put weight on his left leg as he received help making it to the free-throw line.
With tears appearing to stream down his face, Irving made both free throws before exiting the game — a scene reminiscent of when his mentor, Kobe Bryant, made two free throws after tearing his Achilles in 2013.
“I asked him as they were taking him off the court, ‘Are you good if you leave without shooting? You’re ruled out,’” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said after the game. “So they took him to the free-throw line, and he shot the free throws and then we got him out.”
Irving, 32, was an All-Star last month and was averaging 24.7 points per game this season, his third since being traded from the Nets to the Mavericks.
“Prayers sent up to Ky,” LeBron James, who won the 2016 NBA Finals with Irving with the Cleveland Cavaliers, wrote on social media Monday night.
Irving became Dallas’ primary point guard when the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last month in a blockbuster deal that stunned the NBA. Doncic also shared support for Irving on Monday by posting two pairs of praying hands on Instagram.
The loss of Irving marks the most devastating blow to a Mavericks team ravaged by injuries. Dallas has been without power forward Anthony Davis, whom it acquired in the Doncic trade, since he suffered a left adductor strain in his team debut on Feb. 8.
Davis was among those who helped Irving to the free-throw line Monday.
The Mavericks have also been without centers Dereck Lively (right ankle stress fracture) and Daniel Gafford (right MCL sprain).
Irving, who grew up in West Orange, N.J., was drafted No. 1 overall by the Cavaliers in 2011 and spent his first six NBA seasons with Cleveland.
He also played two years with the Boston Celtics before teaming up with Kevin Durant to sign with the Nets in 2019. Irving averaged 27.1 points per game during an up-and-down four-year tenure with Brooklyn.
The Nets traded Irving to Dallas in February of 2023 for a package that included Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and a first-round pick.
Irving has since emerged as a leader with the Mavericks and helped take them to last year’s NBA Finals, where they lost in five games to Boston.
