As Kyrie Irving continues rehabbing his torn ACL to get back on the court for the Dallas Mavericks at some point during the 2025-26 NBA season, the nine-time All-Star is also thinking about his post-basketball future.
On a recent Twitch stream with Kai Cenat (starts at 1:26:50 mark), Irving said that “pretty soon” he will be returning to school to his degree in political science.
Irving also tossed out psychology and economics as subjects that interest him. He wants his degree to provide others with insights and advice based on both lived experiences, as well as education.
“Knowledge is power, y’all. Knowledge is power,” Irving said.
Irving didn’t specify how close he is to getting his degree, nor did he say exactly when he would start taking college classes again. The 33-year-old spent one season at Duke in 2010-11 before entering the NBA draft.
In the lead up to the draft, Irving told reporters he “made a pact” with his father to get his degree “within five years.”
“That’s a pact I made with him during my freshman year. He told me that if I was going to leave after one year, I was going to have to get my degree,” said Irving.
However, five years later, Irving explained in the lead up to the 2016 Olympics when he was playing for Team USA that his plan got put on hold in part because he “would literally have to be on campus” since Duke only offers a limited selection of online courses.
Irving tore his ACL in the first quarter of a March 3 game against the Sacramento Kings. He agreed to a three-year, $119 million deal in July to remain with the Mavs.
The club has not put a definite timeline on Irving’s return to game action, but he is reportedly targeting January or February to make his 2025-26 season debut.
Hope is high for the Mavericks after selecting Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft. They have a very intriguing trio with Flagg, Irving and Anthony Davis when all three can get on the floor together.
