Mavericks' Jason Kidd drops bold Kyrie Irving prediction for 2024-25 season
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Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd believes that at 32 years old, the best is still yet to come for Kyrie Irving. On the heels of a Western Conference championship, Kidd sees a higher ceiling for the team in the 2024-2025 season, beginning with Irving.
The Dallas Mavericks head coach sat down with Marc Stein of the DLLS Mavs podcast in a video published on Oct. 4. Kidd said that he believes Irving will be even “better” in his third season with the team and will be one of Dallas’ biggest X-factors, even with the offseason addition of Klay Thompson.
“[Kyrie Irving] has really loved being in Dallas,” Kidd said on the DLLS Mavs podcast. “He loves the situation. He respects [general manager Nico Harrison] and myself. He wants to win and I think you saw that in the numbers he put up… You can see that in training camp. He’s doing all the reps [and] doesn’t want to sit out. I think you’re going to see an even better Kyrie this season.”
"I think you're gonna see a better Kyrie this season." Jason Kidd shared with @TheSteinLine why superstar Kyrie Irving has been so impactful already during his time with the Mavericks, but believes he'll be even better in 2024-25.
Full interview: https://t.co/awThcXrKe3pic.twitter.com/yXHkWeYezd
— DLLS Mavs (@DLLS_Mavs) October 3, 2024
In his first full season with Dallas, Irving averaged 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game in 58 appearances during the 2023-2024 season. The scoring numbers were his lowest since the 2018-2019 season but the chemistry Irving showed with Luka Doncic caused some, including TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy, to refer to the duo as the greatest scoring backcourt of all time.
Kidd made a point to note the injury concerns for Irving during his praise of the guard, as the three-time all-NBA nominee has not played more than 60 games in a single season since his final year with the Boston Celtics in 2018-2019.
Mavericks enter 2024-2025 with third-best odds to repeat as Western Conference champions
Should Kyrie Irving remain healthy for his 14th year in the NBA and make the leap Jason Kidd predicted him to, the Dallas Mavericks would be in an ideal position to claw their way back to their second consecutive NBA Finals appearance. Following the team’s acquisition of Thompson in free agency, sportsbooks increased their chances of winning the Western Conference, giving them the third-best odds.
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, the Mavericks are listed only behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets as favorites to come out of the west by the end of the season. The Thunder ended the 2023-2024 season with the No. 1 seed in the conference before disappointing in the playoffs while the Nuggets are just one year removed from winning the 2023 NBA Finals.
Along with Thompson, Dallas’ 2024 offseason also included the notable additions of Spencer Dinwiddie, Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes.
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