The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly optimistic that star point guard Kyrie Irving could return from his torn left ACL by January 2026 and play a significant portion of the 2025–26 season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

After the latest PR debacle to come out of Dallas in the wake of the Luka Dončić trade (this time Nico Harrison continuing to trip over himself at every public turn to justify the deal), the Mavericks are perhaps trying to counter the negative vibes engulfing their franchise by throwing a little bit of good news out into the ether.