Irving had to deal with the after-effects of the Luka Doncic trade, doing his part to keep the Mavericks on the right path before going down with a season-ending ACL injury in March. A year after leading Dallas to the finals, Irving was forced to watch from the sidelines as his team was eliminated in the NBA play-in.

Point guard Kyrie Irving offered a response rooted in patience to a question about whether he would return from his ACL tear in time for the playoffs.

A firm recovery timeline hasn’t been set for the 33-year-old guard, who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on March 3 and underwent surgery about three weeks later. Players historically take a year or more to recover from ACL tears, although it can vary according to the severity of the injury.