The Dallas Mavericks enter the 2026-27 NBA season with a dual sense of optimism. On one hand they anticipate a meaningful growth from Cooper Flagg in his second year. On the other, and tying into the first point, they want to gauge how much Kyrie Irving’s return could make them better, a sentiment the team’s new head coach, Dusty May, has spoken about in particularly positive terms.
After a full year away from competition, the veteran guard will return to the court this Sunday in a preseason matchup that will be held in China. The ACL tear of his left knee, suffered on March 3, 2025, is well behind him, and now the task is to get back into rhythm. While he works toward that, his coach can only marvel at what he has seen in practice sessions.
“He has been incredible in practices in terms of leadership and mentoring the younger players. He possesses a vast reservoir of knowledge, so we encourage him to share as much as possible with the rest of the team,” May says, before underscoring how well he sees the basketball.
“I’m thrilled to see him back on the floor. There have been moments during training when, watching him play, you realize the pull he has and the edge he creates for his teammates. I think that’s where we can greatly improve on offense: simply having a playmaker of his caliber on the floor will open up many possibilities for everyone,” May concludes.
