At long last, Dallas Mavericks Media Day arrived on Friday, meaning that training camp will begin soon after, and the NBA preseason and regular season are officially right around the corner as well.
One key storyline for the Mavs this season is the return of Kyrie Irving, who missed the entire 2025-26 season with a torn ACL. During that missed season, Irving took on more of a player-coach role, and he spoke about that experience on Friday morning.
“It was quite interesting coming into practice and
not being able to raise the level of the intensity or just the competitive drive [with my play]. I feel like whenever I walk into a gym, not only do I feel like I’m one of the best to be out there, but I also feel like I can raise the level of play and just bring out the best in people. If I’m playing with kids or if I’m playing with adults, it’s just a joy,” Irving said.
“Sometimes that could look like aggression or competitive drive. So the coaching came naturally to me this year or last year, just being able to be on the sidelines, coming to games a little bit later rather than coming to games four and a half hours or three and a half hours early. See it from different vantage points, get an appreciation for guys’ tangibles and their skill sets, and learn how to bring out the best in them.”
Last season was a tough one for both Irving individually and the Mavs as a whole. The team finished 26-56 and ended up in the NBA Draft Lottery (ultimately drafting national champion Michigan big man Morez Johnson Jr. with the No. 9 pick), and there wasn’t much Irving could do to help aside from keeping the guys focused on the long-term big picture going forward.
“Last year was tough. It was a tough season, just record-wise, just emotionally,” Irving said. “And I’m not just only going to speak for myself, but just walking around the building, you can tell we have a lot of winners here, and no one likes losing. … I think you want to see guys that are putting in their best work, and they’re putting their best foot forward in practice and in games. … That’s what I was here to do, just to reiterate the culture we’re building here, and also the trust that we have to have for one another.
“I think the biggest learning takeaway that I had, or the biggest learning lesson was, what does patience look like when you really want something? I really wanted to be on the court, but I still had to learn what patience felt like and giving my teammates grace.”
Although last season was a lost one as far as competing for a playoff spot goes, it was an effective year due to the development of 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who ended up winning Rookie of the Year and is now looking to take a big leap into year two. Irving having to sit out last season helped him spend more time guiding Flagg through his first NBA season.
“We had a lot of young guys, including Cooper, that have a world of talent but need that guidance, need that leadership, and I feel like I tried to fill in that void as much as possible,” Irving said. “But now, as we sit here and we have our team set, we have our coaching staff set, really confident that we’re going to be able to do great things and looking forward to continuing to bring the best out of each other. So that player-coach role was fun. I enjoyed it, but I think I’m ready to go out there and kick some butt.”
On paper, Irving and Flagg appear to be a perfect on-court fit with each other, despite the 15-year age gap. We’ll get our first look at what that dynamic duo can do during the Mavs’ first preseason game against the Houston Rockets at The Venetian Arena in Cotai, Macao on Oct. 9.
