The Los Angeles Clippers played their first home game of the 2025 NBA playoffs on Thursday night as they hosted the Denver Nuggets at Intuit Dome for Game 3.
A number of celebrities came to witness the first-ever playoff game in L.A.’s new home stadium. One of them was Dallas Mavericks superstar point guard Kyrie Irving, who decided to take in some postseason action on Thursday night.
The Mavs were eliminated from playoff contention after losing their play-in game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, 120-106. The loss put an end to Dallas’ campaign, as the Grizzlies secured the No. 8 seed to set up a first-round matchup against the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder.
The NBA took to social media to share its reaction to Irving’s rather unexpected appearance at the Clippers-Nuggets game.
“Kyrie here in LA for Nuggets-Clippers action 🙌” the NBA posted on X.
Irving was seen dribbling a basketball while he was seated courtside before the game. He also exchanged pleasantries with a few players before taking a couple of photos with some young fans.
Irving’s surgically repaired knee looked fine, and it did not look like he had any trouble with his mobility — at least in the video above. The nine-time All-Star tore his ACL on March 3 during a game, and he had surgery on March 26.
Irving is reportedly expected to make a full recovery, but he isn’t expected to be back until January, which means that he will miss the start of the 2025-26 season.
For now, Irving has no choice but to enjoy NBA playoff basketball from the sidelines.