The Dallas Mavericks have been outwardly optimistic about the potential for Kyrie Irving to return to action on the early side of the typical recovery timeline that comes with an ACL tear. The veteran point guard,

Point guard Kyrie Irving offered a response rooted in patience to a question about whether he would return from his ACL tear in time for the playoffs.

Irving, who already underwent successful surgery shortly after, has endured multiple significant knee injuries and procedures throughout his career, one in 2015 after fracturing his kneecap during the NBA Finals, and another in 2018 to remove screws in the same knee.