Duke basketball star’s past injury forces him to miss primetime game

Former Duke basketball standout Kyrie Irving sat out after a former injury reemerged. 

Last season was a disaster for former Duke basketball standout Kyrie Irving as his campaign ended prior to the suspension of the season with a shoulder injury.

The shoulder ailment had bothered the former Blue Devil all season as he received a cortisone shot in December 2019 before having to undergo surgery in March.

Prior to the Saturday night matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, the Brooklyn Nets announced that their star guard would miss the matchup due to “right shoulder injury recovery.”

The Nets lost, 115-98, snapping their eight-game winning streak.

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Irving has now missed 11 games this season, a large majority coming from his unexcused absence from the team and subsequent quarantine after breaking the league’s health and safety protocols.

None of Kyrie Irving’s absences have been related or designated to his injury suffered last season, but perhaps the Nets were just trying to “load manage” Irving without specifically using the term. It’ll be something to monitor going forward.

Brooklyn was also without Kevin Durant against Dallas, as he has been ruled out through the All-Star break with a hamstring strain.

Duke basketball star looking to make presence known at All-Star Game

Kevin Durant is an All-Star captain this season, but the injury will prevent him from taking place in the exhibition.

Kyrie Irving was named to his seventh All-Star game and will be a starter for whichever team he is selected by, Team Durant or Team LeBron.

Irving is averaging 27.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game this season for the Nets.

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Former Blue Devils Zion Williamson and Jayson Tatum have also been named as All-Stars while former Duke player and assistant coach Quin Synder will be a head coach in the game.

Brooklyn has a two-game road trip looming before the All-Star break, facing the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets starting on Monday, March 1.