Kyrie Irving hasn’t played in a game since March 2025 when he tore his left ACL
Everyone – as long as their heart is in the right place – should appreciate a worthy comeback story. Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum returning from Achilles injuries. Klay Thompson coming back from a torn ACL and a torn Achilles.The grueling rehab, the incremental progress that is barely perceptible in real time and the duration away from competitive basketball and teammates are taxing physically and mentally.
That’s why the return feels so emotional, so sweet. There is a reward for the effort.
Several players, including a handful who missed all of last season (Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton among them), are scheduled to return from injury for the 2026-27 season. Here’s a look at some of those players.
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Lillard hasn’t played since the 2025 playoffs when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks. He tore his left Achilles in Game 4 against Indiana and didn’t play last season. Lillard, 36, rejoined Portland, the team that drafted him in 2012, in free agency a year ago. He was an All-Star in 2024 and 2025 and averaged 24.9 points, 7.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds and shot 37.6% on 3-pointers in 2024-25. Can he return to that form? How will he adjust to playing alongside new teammate Ja Morant?
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
We last saw Haliburton, 26, play meaningful basketball in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals between Indiana and Oklahoma City. He sustained a torn right Achilles in that game and missed the 2025-26 season. He recently said on his YouTube channel “I can pretty much say I’m back at this point. I feel like I’m back in shape, but there’s a difference between being in shape and being in Tyrese Haliburton shape.” He was an All-Star and All-NBA performer in 2024-25, averaging 18.6 points, 9.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds. The East is deeper and better, and the New York Knicks are the defending champions, but the Pacers believe Haliburton’s return makes them one of the conference’s best teams.
Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
Irving, 34, hasn’t played in a game since March 3, 2025 – that’s when he tore his left ACL. Irving, who helped the Mavericks reach the 2024 NBA Finals, is a nine-time All-Star, including in 2024-25 when he was averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists and shooting 47.3% from the field, 40.1% on 3-pointers and 91.6% on free throws at the time of the injury.
Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors
Butler, who turns 37 on Sept. 14, played in 38 games for the Warriors last season. He tore his right ACL on Jan. 19 and missed the final three months of the season. He was doing Jimmy Butler things before the injury, averaging 20 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 51.9% from the field and 37.6% on 3s. The Warriors were 25-19 at the time of the injury and finished 37-45.
Ja Morant, Portland Trail Blazers
Morant missed 62 games last season, including 46 of the Memphis Grizzlies’ final 48 games, with a left elbow injury. Before the Grizzlies traded Morant, 27, to Portland, they said he was expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2026-27 season. After a promising start to his career fizzled amid injuries and off-court issues, Morant, a two-time All-Star, gets a fresh start in Portland alongside veteran star Damian Lillard.
Trae Young, Washington Wizards
Bothered by right knee, right quad and back problems, Young played in 15 games last season – 10 with the Atlanta Hawks and five with the Washington Wizards after they acquired him from Atlanta. He didn’t play from Oct. 31- Dec. 14, Dec. 29 – March 3 and March 17 through the end of the regular season. Young, who turns 28 on Sept. 19, is a four-time All-Star, an All-NBA selection in 2021-22 and led the league in assists (11.6 per game) in 2024-25. He’s the kind of player who can deliver 24 points and 10 assists per game, and this is an important season for Young to show he’s still that player.
Anthony Davis, Washington Wizards
Davis, 33, has played in just 71 games over the past two seasons, including 20 last season – all with the Dallas Mavericks before they traded him to the Wizards with whom he was shut down and didn’t play any games with a ligament injury in his left hand. Davis is a premier big man – an All-Star in 2024-25 and an All-NBA and All-Defensive player in 2023-24. Is Davis still a 20-10 player? Can he do it for a full season?
Fred VanVleet, Houston Rockets
VanVleet, 32, missed all of last season after sustaining a torn right ACL during a workout just before training camp opened for the 2025-26 season. VanVleet was an All-Star in 2022 and gives the Rockets a strong veteran presence with championship experience in the backcourt. With a healthy VanVleet alongside Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith, Reed Sheppard, Tari Eason, Marcus Smart, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Steven Adams, the Rockets believe they are among the West’s best teams.
Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
Sabonis, one of the NBA’s premier scoring, rebounding and passing big men, missed 63 games last season, including the Kings’ final 30 with a torn meniscus in his right knee. Sabonis, 30, is a three-time All-Star and made third-team All-NBA in 2022-23 and 2023-24. He put up All-Star-caliber statistics in 2024-25, too, when he averaged 19.1 points, a league-best 13.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists and shot 59% from the field and 41.7% on 3s.
Jaren Jackson Jr., Utah Jazz
Jackson Jr. sat out the final 27 games of the regular season after undergoing surgery to remove a growth in his left knee. The Jazz acquired the two-time All-Star and 2022-23 Defensive Player of the Year from Memphis at the February trade deadline last season, and Jackson ended up playing just three games with his new team. In 48 games in 2025-26, Jackson, who turns 27 on Sept. 15, averaged 19.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals and shot 47.6% from the field, 35.7% on 3s and 80.3% on free throws.
Zach LaVine, Sacramento Kings
LaVine, 31, needed surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right (shooting) little finger and missed Sacramento’s final 29 games of the regular season. LaVine was averaging 19.2 points and shooting 47.9% from the field and 39% on 3s when he had surgery and the Kings ruled him out for the remainder of the season. The Kings want to see what kind of team they have with a healthy LaVine and Sabonis alongside Maxime Raynaud, Keegan Murray, De’Andre Hunter, Nique Clifford, Precious Achiuwa, Malik Monk and rookies Darius Acuff Jr. and Alex Karaban.
Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies
Edey made the All-Rookie team in 2024-25, averaging 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks and shooting 58% from the field in just 21.5 minutes per game. His per-36-minute splits: 15.5 ppg/13.9 rpg/2.2 bpg. But he played in just 11 games in 2025-26, needing two surgeries on his left ankle and surgery on his left elbow. Edey is a big part of Memphis’ roster reshape.
Walker Kessler, Los Angeles Lakers
The 7-2 Kessler played in Utah’s first five games last season and didn’t play again, missing Utah’s final 77 games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. But based on what he did in his first three seasons, including 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game and 66.3% shooting from the field in 2024-25, he was sought after as a restricted free agent. With the Lakers in need of a big man, Utah traded him to Los Angeles for two first-round picks in July. The Lakers are invested in Kessler’s growth.
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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
