Kyrie Irving will sit out the remainder of this season and wait until the fall to make his return froma torn ACL suffered nearly a year ago, he and the Dallas Mavericks announced on Wednesday.

"This decision wasn't easy, but it's the right one," Irving said in a statement released by the team. "I am grateful for the Mavericks organization, my teammates and our fans for their continued support throughout the process. I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season. The belief and drive I have inside only grows.

"And I wanted to send a huge shoutout to ALL of my brothers and sisters out there who've torn their ACL or gotten injured doing what they love to do every day. THANK YOU for the inspiration. No fear!"

Irving tore his ACL in a March 3 game against Sacramento almost a year ago. There had been speculation that he might return later this season, but with Dallas sitting as the No. seed 12 in the West and focused more on draft positioning than climbing up into the play-in — this team is tanking — Irving's return made little sense. Although his agent, Shetellia Riley Irving, said it was not about that in a statement to Shams Charania of ESPN.

"This is about Kyrie being 1000% when he comes back and giving himself the best chance to chase a championship next season."

Irving's timeline for a return is very realistic, it often takes players a year or more to come back. Irving is in the first year of a three-year $118 contract with Dallas and the Mavericks are on the hook for $39.5 million next season, plus he has a $42.4 player option for 2027-28.

When Dallas hires a new head of basketball operations this summer (to replace the fired Nico Harrison), one of the decisions for that person will be whether to lean into a youth movement and trade Irving, or whether to pair Cooper Flagg, whoever the team drafts this June, a (hopefully) healthy Dereck Lively II, with Irving, or whether to completely lean into the youth movement. (Part of that may be how the Mavericks fare in the NBA Draft Lottery and who they pick up.)

Irving was an All-Star with the Mavericks before his injury last season, averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists a game while shooting 40.1% from 3-point range.