Kyrie Irving clears the air on mysterious back injury, shares chilling update

The light at the end of the tunnel is finally beginning to approach for the Dallas Mavericks, as Kyrie Irving returned to the lineup against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night after being sidelined for most of 2025 with a back injury.

Last night was the first time he had played since January 1, as he missed one game on January 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers with what was ruled an illness before missing the following four games with what the Mavs announced to be a lumbar back sprain.

While Irving's return to the court against Denver was a bit underwhelming when diving into the numbers as he shot 4-18 from the field and scored just 11 points, it was a major breath of fresh air to see him back on the floor with his teammates. Dallas missed him considerably during his two-week absence, and he gave everyone a much better look into how severe his injury was while speaking to media members at his locker after the game.

Irving is dealing with a bulging disk, went through painful limitations

Irving made it clear early on during his media availability that he received an MRI while he was out, and it revealed that he had a bulging disk in his back.

Despite going through serious pain over the two weeks that he was out, he said his back felt "better" on Tuesday night against the Nuggets as he has been taking medicine. He said that the pain is "on and off," and when diving into specifics of the pain he was dealing with, it showed that he was dealing with an injury that he and the Mavs must be cautious about.

Irving revealed that putting on his socks was a struggle while being injured, and the pain was so unbearable that he couldn't meditate as he likes to do regularly. Despite the pain that he dealt with, including an "uncomfortable feeling" that radiated into his legs, Irving confirmed that doctors said his injury wouldn't require surgery, and he sounded extremely relieved about that. He also added that there isn't real concern in the locker room about his injury, and he seems to be emphasizing being careful, but not too careful when it comes to managing the injury. Over the last few weeks, Irving has chatted with various people in the organization who have dealt with back injuries in the past to get a better understanding of what they dealt with.

Although Irving originally said he was expecting to play tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans last night, he was ruled as doubtful in the latest injury report ahead of the game. He is taking a day-to-day approach when it comes to his recovery and dealing with this bulging disk in his back, and he said this is something he has never dealt with before. Back injuries are no joke, and Irving must be careful to do his best to remain healthy during this tough time, and the Mavericks must be smart about easing him back into things to reduce the chances of him tweaking his back.

Before last night's game, Jason Kidd revealed that Irving would play in the 30-33-minute range, and he ended up playing 30 minutes. It's unclear if Kidd will have a minutes restriction for Irving again whenever he returns to the lineup, and Dallas' schedule isn't going to get any easier.

If Irving misses tonight's game but returns the following game, he will be facing off against the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, and he'll have his hands full. The Thunder defended him as well as anyone in the playoffs last season, and he'll be looking to take another step in the right direction if he does indeed play.