Kyrie Irving's latest silent injury update reveals Mavericks' nightmare is overblown

Kyrie Irving's workout videos have been promising for multiple months now as he recovers from a torn ACL that he suffered back in March, and the Dallas Mavericks' nightmare scenario of him missing the entire 2025-26 season seems impossible after he has recently been seen working out while doing moves that include multiple dribbles.

Irving is no longer just shooting standstill jumpers; he's shooting off the dribble, and the progress is obvious for anyone who has been dialed in on his recovery process over the last few months. He is dialed in on being an even better version of himself when he returns to the court, and he is taking every necessary step to do just that.

This isn't to say that Irving is going to make a wild turnaround and make his season debut within a few months, as he has been transparent about taking all of the time that he needs to fully recover while Jason Kidd has silenced any of the chatter that he is "ahead of schedule," but it is clear to see that he is moving in the right direction with the regular season being less than two weeks away.

Kyrie Irving missing all of the 2025-26 season seems like a long shot

In the above clip, Irving can be seen working on jumpers off the bounce with Phil Handy and Keith Veney, and him taking this next step as he works toward a return is a great sight to see. Mavericks fans went into a panic over the summer when Irving wouldn't confirm or deny if he would be returning in time for the 2026 NBA Playoffs, but concerns of that possibility becoming a reality seem to be slipping more out the window by the day.

Irving has been working hard daily to get back to where he once was, and as time goes on, he will continue to add more to his rehab workouts until he is at 100 percent. He has constantly been around the team despite being out for a large chunk of next season, and he locked in his future in Dallas by signing a new three-year contract with the Mavericks over the summer.

Despite the early doubt that clouded Irving's fit in Dallas when they traded him back in 2023, he has silenced any naysayers that believed he wouldn't succeed on the Mavericks, and his growth as a leader has been just as revolutionary as his progression on the floor.

Irving has completely flipped the false narrative that followed him during his days with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets that he isn't a good teammate, and as exemplified by all of the videos that have been posted of his recovery process recently, he is taking his ACL rehab seriously.

He is doing whatever he can to try to come back better and stronger than he was before, and Mavs fans should be optimistic about his upcoming return. It may not happen as quickly as fans want, but he is focussed on returning to being the elite player he was before he tore his ACL.

Irving believes that he was a top-15 player in the NBA before he tore his ACL, and he'll be on a mission to get back to that level step by step as soon as he gets back on the floor.