Luka Dončić was not the only Laker who expressed great concern about Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving after his brutal injury.
Los Angeles Lakers‘ 40-year-old superstar LeBron James, who won a championship with Irving in Cleveland in 2016, also sent his well wishes as well.
“Prayers sent up to Ky 🧙🏾🤞🏾!!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾,” James posted in a heartfelt message on X shortly after Irving suffered a brutal ACL injury that will keep him out for the remainder of the season.
Prayers sent up to Ky 🧙🏾🤞🏾!!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 4, 2025
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Irving sustained the injury late in the first quarter of their 122-98 blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, March 3.
The Mavericks star point guard lost his balance as he tried to elude past Kings swingman DeMar DeRozan on his drive to the basket. Irving landed awkwardly on his left leg, with his knee appearing to have hyperextended as he came crashing down to the floor.
“Just unlucky,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd told reporters after the loss. “I hope that he’s healthy, that it’s not serious.”
Before he was helped on his way to the locker room, Irving bravely shot the free throws, a scene that was eerily similar when his childhood hero, the late Kobe Bryant, made two foul shots after suffering an ACL tear in 2013 that signaled the decline of his career.
“That’s just who, I mean, Kai’s a tough guy,” Kidd told reporters. “I asked him as they were taking him off the court, ‘Are you good if you leave without shooting? You’re ruled out.’ So they took him to the free-throw line, and he shot the free throws and then we got him out.”
The Botched LeBron-Kyrie Reunion
In January last year, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Irving had a “strong interest” in reuniting with James even after the Mavericks traded for him at the trade deadline in 2023.
Shelburne added James was also open to the idea.
But the Mavericks, however, were determined to keep the Irving-Dončić pairing who led the franchise to a Finals run last season.
In a cruel twist of fate, now the Lakers have paired James with Dončić after the Mavericks shockingly traded the Slovenian star to them for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.
Kyrie Regrets Leaving LeBron, Cavaliers
Irving believed he and James would have won more than just one championship in Cleveland had he not requested a trade after their NBA Finals loss in 2017.
“If I was in the same maturity line and understanding of who I am, and I look back, we definitely, definitely would’ve won more championships,” Irving said on “I Am Athlete” podcast in 2022. “Because there would’ve been a better man-to-man understanding about what I’m going through. I didn’t know how to share my emotions.”
The James-Irving pairing with Kevin Love as the third star won one of three NBA Finals meetings against their bitter rivals Golden State Warriors. But Irving, who was 25 at that time, wanted to get out of James’ shadows and lead his own team. He did not find the same success with James after he left him.
“I didn’t know how to do that,” Irving continued. “So instead of sharing, I isolated myself. I just started pouring myself more into the game — I had one of my better seasons but I wasn’t connecting with everybody as much during the championship year. So 2017, it was a different year for us.”
Irving’s biggest regret was not talking to James, who took him under his wing in Cleveland.
“We didn’t talk during that time,” Irving said. “When I look back on what I was going through at that time, I wish I did [talk to LeBron], because it would’ve been a good understanding of what the future will hold for both of us and we know how much power we both had together. Me and him in the league together running Cleveland, and then being able to put a better team together every single year would’ve definitely been worth it.”
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