Is Kyrie Irving playing today against Minnesota Timberwolves? Latest injury update from Dallas Mavericks (5th October)

The Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves will compete in the NBA's preseason opener on Oct. 5. The two teams are playing in Abu Dhabi. Dallas has no players on its injury report, per NBA.com. As such, we should expect superstar point guard Kyrie Irving on the court for the preseason game.

Irving, 31, recently signed a three-year contract with the Mavericks worth $120 million. The superstar guard will earn $37 million this season, $40 million in the 2024-25 season, and has a player option worth $42.9 million for 2025-26, when he will be 33 years old, per Spotrac.

After handing in a trade request to the brooklyn Nets last season, Irving was traded to the Mavericks. The Mavs looked to give Luka Doncic an All-Star teammate to improve the franchise's chances of contending for a championship.

The pairing failed to have the desired effect, and the Mavericks front office allegedly made the decision to tank their way out of the playoff picture so they could earn a higher draft pick.

Dallas was fined by the NBA for its actions. However, the Mavericks have added talent and depth to their rotation during the summer. Irving and Luka Doncic will now be confident in their ability to challenge for a Western Conference finals spot and, potentially, a place in the NBA finals next summer.

After joining Dallas, Irving participated in 20 games, averaging 27.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 39.2% from 3-point range and 58.5% from 2-point distance.

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Kyrie Irving believes he and Luka Doncic weren't ready last season

Kyrie Irving joined the Dallas Mavericks around the February trade deadline. With two of the best ball-handling stars in the NBA, the Mavericks were instantly expected to challenge for a championship. However, Irving, who was speaking to Fox Sports, feels the pressure and questions about his fit with Luka Doncic helped derail the season.

"It was so quick last year," Kyrie said. "There was so much pressure on us to win now, win big. ‘It's Luka and Kyrie. Why can't you guys win games?' So we were answering a lot of questions that honestly I don't think we were ready for."

After a full offseason, Irving and Doncic will better understand how to get the best out of each other. Coach Jason Kidd will likely have devised a new gameplan that utilizes the team's two stars to better effect, and the Mavericks' supporting cast is better suited to accentuating star talent.

As the Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves face off in Abu Dhabi, all eyes will be on how Irving and Docic play together and off of each other in what will be the first signs of a potential championship team.