Grading Kyrie Irving's First Game Back From Injury for Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks started the 2026-27 season on the road against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. After a fun first quarter, the second quarter spiraled out of control quickly, and the Mavericks found themselves down by 32 at halftime, which was too big a hole to climb out of.

They'd go on to lose 128-110, just narrowly avoiding being the 7th team to lose by at least 20 points in their season opener this year.

It wasn't the opener that Mavericks fans were hoping to see, even if it did give them the chance to watch Cooper Flagg set yet another NBA record for the points scored by a teenager in a season opener in NBA history.

Wednesday night was also Kyrie Irving's first official game back since he tore his ACL against the Sacramento Kings on March 3rd, 2025, an absence of 597 days.

While he played in two preseason games, that doesn't count in the books as the regular season does.

So, how did Irving play in his first game in nearly 600 days?

Oct 21, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) shoots the ball as Houston Rockets center Clint Capela (30) defends during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Houston Rockets Made Sure Kyrie Irving Couldn't Beat Them

Despite it being 19 months since he last played basketball, the Houston Rockets gave Kyrie Irving the most respect possible, double-teaming him most of the time that he had the ball and put it on the floor.

You could tell Irving wasn't quite expecting it early on, but the Mavericks adjusted by letting Cooper Flagg and Naji Marshall handle the ball more.

In his first game back, Irving had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 turnovers while shooting 6/9 from the floor and 1/4 from three. In a 28-point loss, he was just a -7.

Overall, it was probably a B- performance from him. The turnovers were all pretty costly, and the Mavericks can be sure that they'll see more of the double teams moving forward, as opposing teams recognize him as the biggest ball-handling threat.

This is why Cooper Flagg and Naji Marshall being able to handle the ball is so important, but Dusty May and the coaching staff will need to find ways to let Irving operate more freely.

It's just Game 1 out of 82. The Mavericks have a back-to-back this weekend, playing the Indiana Pacers on Friday, then the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. It's likely that Irving only plays in one of the two, as he keeps ramping up from his knee injury, and the offense is going to look rough at times.

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