Kyrie Irving sits the Mavericks’ home opener against the Spurs for left knee management, with Cooper Flagg also out

Kyrie Irving will sit out the Dallas Mavericks‘ home opener against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, October 24, listed on the league’s official injury report as out for left knee injury management on the second night of a back-to-back.

The decision means Dallas opens its home schedule without either of its two leading creators. Cooper Flagg is also out after an MRI showed a mild sprain in his left shoulder, and the team plans to reevaluate him next week.

A cautious plan for a rebuilt knee

Irving’s status moved in steps through Saturday. He was first listed as questionable, then downgraded to doubtful, and finally ruled out a little over an hour before tip-off, a path Rotoworld’s Shawn Robinson described as expected given the back-to-back. Nothing in the designation points to a new injury. The listing is for management of the knee that kept him out for more than 19 months.

Irving tore the ACL in his left knee in March 2025 and returned for the regular season only this week. He scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes in Tuesday’s loss at Houston, then had 24 points with five 3-pointers in Friday’s 121-105 win at Indiana, the game in which Flagg was hurt. Sitting one half of a back-to-back this early is the kind of load plan teams often use for players coming back from that surgery, although Dallas has not said publicly how often it will rest him.

Who fills the minutes

Marcus Sasser is set to start at point guard, according to Rotoworld, with Walter Clayton Jr. expected to take on a larger role off the bench. Without Irving and Flagg, more of the offense falls to P.J. Washington, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds in Indiana, and to Max Christie and Naji Marshall. The Mavericks are 1-1. The rest of Saturday’s statuses are on our NBA injury report page.

What comes next

The Mavericks host the Spurs at American Airlines Center on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (3 a.m. Sunday in Cairo): Spurs at Mavericks Game Center. Irving’s next chance to play is Monday, October 26, when Dallas visits Miami at 7:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. Tuesday in Cairo): Mavericks at Heat Game Center.