MACAO — Kyrie Irving will return to the court when the Dallas Mavericks face the Houston Rockets in China this weekend, his first live game action since rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on March 3, 2025, against the Sacramento Kings. New Mavericks head coach Dusty May told reporters in Macao that Irving will play in one of the two preseason games scheduled for Friday or Sunday as part of the NBA's exhibition trip to China, more than 19 months after the ACL tear and about 10 months after a previously undisclosed calf strain delayed his comeback.
"We will have a limited roster," May told reporters, according to Christian Clark of The Athletic. "Even with Kyrie, he is going to play one game here. We still haven't decided which one. Based on how his body feels, especially with the jet lag and things like that. It's still inconclusive at this time. We are working on different lineup combinations. But as of now, we are still not sure." After the long layoff, Irving said he does "feel like a little kid at the candy store a little bit" and added, "For me personally, it's just getting out of my own way, and the mental aspect of it. Being back on the floor, putting my uniform back on, hearing my name be called — it feels like it's been a distant memory."
Irving had been playing at a high level before the injury, averaging 28.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 1 block per game in his previous 10 contests while carrying the offense after Dallas traded franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić. He missed the entire 2025-26 season, a longer absence than expected that Irving said was extended by a setback in December. "Throughout the season, I did have a moment in December where I did have a setback," Irving said. "That did put me out for about eight weeks. I had a calf strain — a Grade 2 calf strain — that was just crazy, and it kind of pushed my timeline back even more. So I had to take my time to heal." A Grade 2 strain is considered a partial tear of the calf muscle, according to injury expert Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes. Dallas did not disclose the setback before officially ruling him out for the remainder of the season on Feb. 18, saying in a statement, "Irving has made steady progress in rehabilitation and will remain actively engaged with the team through the remainder of the season."
Irving returns to a drastically different Dallas organization led by May, new president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, new general manager Mike Schmitz and reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, the former No. 1 overall pick out of Duke who has yet to share the court with Irving in a game. Dallas was 10 games under .500 entering January in 13th place in the Western Conference and fell to 19-31 before trading All-Star big man Anthony Davis — the oft-injured primary return from the Dončić deal — to the Washington Wizards. The Mavericks went 7-21 with the NBA's eighth-worst net rating after the All-Star break to finish 26-56, the franchise's worst record since 2017-18 and its second worst this century, and selected Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr. with the No. 9 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The calf issue came amid a league-wide spate of calf strains that sidelined Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama and Ja Morant, and saw Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton rupture his Achilles tendon after playing on a strained calf. "There is a concern that calf injuries can lead to Achilles injuries, and that this is all due to incomplete rehab in the calf and favoring one leg over the other," Dr. Richard Ferkel of the Southern Orthopedic Institute told Yahoo Sports contributing writer Tom Haberstroh last year. "Teams are being much more conservative in returning players back from calf injuries."
"I think the offseason gave me time to just take that moment to just reflect, and push my body to the limits that I knew were smart," Irving told reporters in China. Now viewed as one of the league's most interesting returning players, the nine-time All-Star could lighten the playmaking load on Flagg as Dallas tries to climb the Western Conference standings. "I'm ready to go out there and kick some butt," Irving told reporters during his media day press conference last month. "I know that naysayers or some of the questions around where I'm going to be are going to be inevitable. [...] This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately type of league, and everybody wants to see it up close. So I'm looking forward to being able to lace up my shoes and being on the court with my teammates and show everybody what I've got again."