Will Dallas Mavs' Kyrie Irving Pass His 'Test' In NBA Opener?

No, we don't think Kyrie Irving has any particular trepidation about taking the floor in Houston on Wednesday, when the Dallas Mavericks open the season against the Houston Rockets.

After all, he's missed out since tearing his ACL on March 3, 2025, has rehabbed diligently but patiently to return, and this summer has taken the floor in practice and in a pair of Mavs preseason games.

Still ...

It will be his first regular-season game since the knee injury, and it will come with him teaming for the first time with Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg and with new Dallas coach Dusty May.

So , it'll be ... something.

“I’m really excited, man, really excited, looking forward to the opportunity to just be in Houston, hear my name called out there as well, the state of Texas, it’s a good rivalry game,” Irving said. “And I think it’s a good test for me, just where my body is, first game and going against some high-level competition.”

Maybe the "test'' for Irving - the nine-time All-Star who was averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists over 50 games in 2024-25 before getting hurt - is largely about conditioning. That would explain the "where my body is'' remark.

And maybe there will be some "minutes monitoring'' to start the year.

But generally speaking?

The "excitement.'' The "opportunity.'' The "high-level competition.''

We are here for all of it.

Irving played in those two preseason games, scoring 17 points in a win over the Rockets in Macao and then scoring 18 points in last Friday's loss to the Hawks.

Dallas is coming off a dismal 26-win season and Irving's job, in part, is to push that into being a distant memory.

The Mavs, he noted, are “0-0, and we’re going against a good Rockets team, so it’ll be a good test not only for the first game but the first 10 or 11.”

Indeed, after Houston, Dallas visits the Indiana Pacers, hosts the San Antonio Spurs, travels to the Miami Heat, and hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder. Those last three clubs are seen as NBA Finals contenders.

“There’s no other way to really look at it when you enjoy the competition at this level,” Irving said. “The best of the best, that’s who you want to see, that’s who you want to go against, and that’s how you want to judge yourself. So I’m looking forward to the challenge.”