Irving did his best to carry the Mavericks since the franchise traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers roughly a month ago. The soon-to-be 33-year-old scored 25+ points in seven of his 11 appearances in the aftermath of the deal, including 42 points in a 111-107 victory against the Golden State Warriors on February 12.

On Tuesday evening, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison released a passionate message in the wake of Irving’s injury during the final part of the regular season.

Harrison called Irving ‘the heart and soul’ of Dallas and went on to compare his work ethic, dedication, and passion to one of the greatest players of all time, Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

“There aren’t words to fully describe who Kyrie Irving is to this team or what he means to us as an organization. Kyrie is the heart and soul of this team, and he has embraced the city of Dallas as his home and our fans as an extension of his own family,” Harrison said in a release. “I’ve been fortunate to have witnessed his journey, his continued evolution and growth over the years, and am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to see him approach the game of basketball with the same energy and fierce passion for the game that he did as a young man on the verge of his career.”

“His work ethic and absolute dedication to his craft, it’s cut from the cloth of greats. I know it, I lived it, and I see the same ferocity and passion in him that I saw in Kobe,” Harrison continued. “All my thoughts and that of our staff are with Kyrie and his family, and we are confident that he will come back from this stronger than ever just like he always has.”

Irving was named an NBA All-Star for the ninth time earlier this year, stepping into the exhibition due to Anthony Davis’s injury. There’s a possibility that Davis won’t play again this season as well.

In 50 starts, Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.3 steals over 36.1 minutes per game. Irving shot over 40% from three-point range for the second consecutive campa