Kyrie Irving has undergone surgery to repair a broken left hand, the Dallas Mavericks announced on Tuesday. Irving suffered the injury while training earlier this month, and a timetable for his return is to be determined. Per Adrian Wojnarowski, the team is hopeful he'll be a full participant in training camp.
Irving and the Mavericks are coming off a trip to the NBA Finals -- their first since 2011, when Dirk Nowitzki led them to the only title in franchise history -- where they were defeated by the Boston Celtics in five games.
In 58 games last season, his first full one with the Mavericks, Irving averaged 25.6 points, five rebounds and 5.2 assists on 49.7/41.1/90.5 shooting splits. He was just a few made shots away from joining Larry Bird, Steve Nash and Kevin Durant as the only players with multiple 50/40/90 seasons.
Despite putting up incredible numbers yet again, Irving missed out on a ninth All-Star appearance due to injuries, most notably a heel contusion that kept him out for 12 games in December. Subsequent issues then prevented him from reaching the new 65-game threshold for major awards, which eliminated him from All-NBA consideration.
While Irving did not earn his usual accolades, this was arguably the best he has played in a number of years, especially in the playoff run to the Finals. He teamed up so superbly with Luka Doncic that some analysts were wondering if they were the best offensive backcourt ever.
Irving was not able to keep up that production in the Finals, however, which was a major reason why the Mavericks looked overmatched at times. Over those five games, he averaged 19.8 points and five assists on 41.4% shooting from the field overall and 27.6% from behind the arc.
Last year, Irving and the Mavericks agreed to a three-year, $140 million extension. He is under contract for the upcoming season and then has a player option for the 2025-26 campaign.
