In last night’s game, Kyrie Injury suffered an ACL tear in his left knee while going for a layup late in the first quarter. This is a devastating blow to Kyrie’s career since he is thirty two years old and has suffered numerous injuries during his career.
The average recovery time for an ACL tear is eight to nine months. However, since Kyrie has suffered a ton of injuries in the past, it could take him longer to bounce back from this one. Even if he does recover, he may not be the same as he was before the injury he suffered.
This is not the first time an injury like this has changed a player. In 2012, Derrick Rose famously tore his ACL and was never the same after. Rose was coming off of his MVP year, and was the youngest player in NBA history to win it at just twenty two years old. After that fateful injury, Rose was unable to reach the MVP caliber he once was able to perform at.
This isn’t always the case with ACL injuries. Denver Nuggets star point guard, Jamal Murray, also suffered an ACL injury in 2021 and was sidelined. He missed the entire 2022 season. When he returned for the 2022/2023 season his first game was against Utah Jazz. He made a fantastic comeback putting up 12 points in 26 minutes. This was just the beginning and Jamal Murray became a better and better player throughout the season. He was the key piece in the Nuggets 2022/23 team and ultimately led them to an NBA championship.
However the difference between Jamal Murray, Derrick Rose, and Kyrie is that Kyre is way older than the other two were at the time they suffered the injury. Derrick Rose was twenty two and Jamal Murray was 26. Kyrie, at thirty two, may not have much time left in his NBA career.
This season, Kyrie was leading the Mavericks in points, assists, and steals, making him a powerful component of the team. Last year, he was also a key piece in the Mavericks Finals run. This year, his biggest challenge has been salvaging the Mavericks team which lost Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford, and PJ Washington in the SAME season. Ultimately holding the Mavericks together since these losses has been a large part of his season. With Kyrie Irving out for his injury, the Mavericks future looks pretty dark.
