What Happened to Kyrie Irving? Torn ACL, Four Teams, and the Long Way Back

March 3, 2025. First quarter against the Sacramento Kings, Kyrie Irving's left knee buckled. He could barely stand — and he still limped to the line, tears streaming down his face, and made both free throws before leaving. The diagnosis: a torn ACL. A month earlier, Dallas had traded away Luka Doncic. Then Irving missed the entire 2025-26 season. On October 11, 2026, in Macao, China, Dallas called the very first play for him. Reverse layup, 14 seconds in. Born in Melbourne, raised in New Jersey after losing his mother at four, Irving promised in fourth grade that he would play in the NBA. He played just 11 games at Duke, went No. 1 overall, became Uncle Drew, and hit the step-back three over Stephen Curry that ended Cleveland's 52-year title drought. Then came four teams, two trade requests, the flat earth, the vaccine fight, a suspension — and a renaissance in Dallas. This is Kyrie Irving's backstory. 0:00 Torn ACL, 587 days gone 1:07 The Promise 1:52 The Handle 2:40 Number One 3:31 The Shot 4:33 Four Teams 5:44 Dallas 6:37 The Long Way Back 7:14 Back in Macao Is Kyrie Irving the most skilled guard you've ever seen? Tell us in the comments. Hoops Backstory tells the stories behind basketball's biggest names. Subscribe for the story behind the next one. Sources: NBA.com, ESPN, AP, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Sports Journal, Basketball-Reference, Wikipedia (Kyrie Irving, 2016 NBA Finals, 2024 NBA Finals, Luka Dončić trade, 2025–26 Dallas Mavericks season). Photos: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY / CC BY-SA / public domain) — see credits in the pinned comment. Music: original score by Hoops Backstory. Footage used for commentary and criticism under fair use. #KyrieIrving #Mavericks #NBA #Mavs #HoopsBackstory