KYRIE Irving has kept a positive attitude towards his recovery from an ACL injury that has sidelined him for more than a year.
The Dallas Mavericks star tore his left ACL last March 3, 2025, the injury then ruled him out for the rest of the just-concluded 2025-26 NBA season.
Irving has been one of the stars of the league, with his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers and teaming up with LeBron James and Kevin Love to win the 2016 NBA title being one of his highs.
But after those highs, Irving has also experienced lows in his career, including this recent injury of his that he sustained in a game against the Sacramento Kings when he drove to the basket and got fouled before falling to the floor. Irving even shot two free throws before leaving the game.
Several months into the recovery period, Irving has navigated this setback with a lot of optimism as he waits for his comeback to happen. A foundation for that positive outlook is his love for the game.
“I've had four knee surgeries. I've had shoulder surgery. I've had two hand surgeries,” Irving said during an interview while he was in Jakarta for his Anta World Tour 2026. “So let's just say I love this craft a lot, to be able to go in the weight room, wake up early, still work on my craft, and still strive to win championships.
“And mentally, it could be challenging, and there are highs and lows, but I don't really call them lows. They're really just moments where they're testing you, God is testing you.”
The 34-year-old Irving said that during this recent lengthy break, he also took advantage of the time away from the game to improve on himself as a person, shifting his focus on other things that he is passionate about aside from basketball.
For Irving, it was reading, spending time with his family, and his role as chief creative officer of Anta Basketball that got him busy during the recovery period.
“You just got to figure it out. ‘Hey, what's my redirection’ or ‘Where's my transformational step that I need to take, and what more can I learn about myself, and what other things make me happy, other than what has been taken away," he said.
“Basketball was taken away. I just didn't play it because I was injured, but I got a chance to work on myself outside of that – reading a lot more, getting closer to God, understanding a mentally fit person, how do they approach life – because I'm not perfect, and I'm still learning."
Kyrie responds to challenges
More than the NBA championship and individual accomplishments, Irving said he wants to be known as a player who was resilient in overcoming the tough times of his career.
“Life isn't always straightforward. It's peaks and valleys… it’s highs and lows. I don't even say it’s lows. It's just lessons, and being knocked down as much as I have been, going through some of the public criticism that was fair and I always honor that. But how I dealt with it, and how I responded is all I want to be remembered," he said.
“I challenged myself to be better. I failed. I succeeded. It's the same thing. I have the same emotions. I'm going to still show up. And when basketball is done, I can say I gave it my all, and that's what it's about," he continued.
Irving is expected to come back at some time during the 2026-27 NBA season, and he is thankful to the people close to him as well as his supporters that he calls as his ‘tribe’ for giving his positive energy and their desire to see him play again.
“When I started playing basketball, I never imagined that I'd be here, but here I am, at 34, I have four children that look up to me, and I have plenty of supporters, tribe members around the world that give me inspiration especially in the last year, after tearing my ACL, not being on the court, being injured, going through some painful moments. But if anybody remembers just me being on the free throw line, I really thank God for just putting me in that position. It's a gift that I don't want to not, I don't want to be selfish with," he said.
“It's a gift I want to share with the world. So, whether it's creating shoes, whether it's being on the court, whether it's being with different walks of life, different religions, different cultures, that makes me happy. So, I'm just going to continue to lead in the right way."
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