Kyrie Irving Responds to Theory That Playing Time Led to His Season-Ending Injury

The Mavs star guard suffered a torn ACL in his left knee Monday.

Dallas Mavericks guard Irving (is helped off the court by forward Marshall and forward Davis during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at the American Airlines Center. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

After Kyrie Irving went down with a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee Monday, a theory quickly surfaced that increased minutes led to the incident.

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported the severity of Irving's injury Tuesday, where he quickly pointed out the heavy minutes Irving played over the month prior. Before the injury, Irving averaged 39.3 minutes over his past 10 games and played the most minutes across the league from Feb. 4 to March 2. The increased playing time came as the Dallas Mavericks sent shockwaves through the NBA by trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package centered around Anthony Davis.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd disagreed with the sentiment that the injury had anything to do with Irving's minute load, calling the play a "freak accident."

On Saturday, Irving addressed the narrative himself, which he certainly disagrees with.

On his personal Instagram account, Irving posted a photo the moment which led to the devastating injury. "Too many minutes? Or did I get knocked off balance?" He captioned the photo.

Luck isn't on Dallas's side as Irving's injury was only another setback amongst a long list. Anthony Davis hasn't played since his Feb. 8 debut with the Mavs. Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II are out, too. Reserve guard Jaden Hardy will miss time after he suffered a right ankle sprain the same night Irving went down.

Irving played over 37 minutes per game from 2021 to '23, career-high numbers. This season, he averaged 36.1 minutes in 50 games. Although he did receive additional play and responsibility aligned with the Doncic trade, he doesn't buy that the injury was anything other than an accident.

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