Kyrie Irving shows out at the 2025 NBA All-Star game

In a tumultuous season, Kyrie gave Mavs fans something to smile about Sunday night

It’s no secret the Mavericks are having a rough go of it this season. Everything from illness, to injury (after injury, after…) to arguably the most shocking trade in league history, the Mavs have taken more than their share of lumps. Even the bright spot of Anthony Davis giving the team an All-Star was quickly dashed when Davis was ruled out of the game.

Fortunately, the league threw the Mavs a bone when Kyrie Irving was named as Davis’ injury replacement, providing Dallas fans a reason to have more than just a passing interest in All-Star Weekend and the new tournament format it featured.

Irving was part of the “OG’s” on Team Shaq Sunday night, one of four teams that participated in the new two-round tournament affair. In Round 1, Team Shaq took out Team Candace by a score of 42-35. In the final round, Team Shaq took out Team Chuck in a more lopsided 41-25 drubbing that held little drama, but offered a few nice highlights and a ridiculous half-court three from eventual All-Star MVP Steph Curry (his crowning garnering more controversy than not, as the home-town representative).

For Kyrie’s part, he had himself a nice night.

• Game 1: 4 Points / 3 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 2 Steals / 1 Turnover (7 Minutes)
• Game 2: 7 Points / 3 Rebounds / 2 Assists / 2 Steals / 2 Turnovers (8 Minutes)
• Overall: 11 Points / 6 Rebounds / 4 Assists / 4 Steals / 3 Turnovers (15 Minutes)

As an observer, it was nice to see Irving take things more seriously than just about any other player on the floor. He actually played defense and hunted rebounds when others were standing around. His highlight of the night was a self-assisted alley-oop off the backboard for a dunk that got the crowd excited!

When it was all said and done, Kyrie also took time to playfully poke fun at his opponents, entering their locker room with trophy in hand.

Whatever you may think of the All-Star game, or last night’s presentation specifically, it was nice for Mavs fans to have some mindless fun watching one of their guys put on a show.