On Monday night, the Dallas Mavericks lost Kyrie Irving for the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL.

Irving had been in the middle of another strong year and developed into one of the most popular Mavs players of all time.

One person who shared his thoughts on the news was Basketball Hall of Famer Vince Carter (via the NBA on TNT).

Carter: “His positivity… Taking a backseat, allowing stars to be stars, allowing Luka to be Luka, but still being a complimentary player, and when you need me, I can step up… Still being a vet, still being a leader, trying to empower everybody… For me personally, you hate to see that because he’s put his best foot forward since he’s stepped into Dallas, and good things has happened for him, so you hate to see this.”

Last season, Irving helped the Mavs reach the NBA Finals for the first time in 11 years.

Over part of three seasons in Dallas, the All-Star guard is averaging 25.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.3 steals per contest while shooting 49.0% from the field and 40.4% from the three-point range in 128 games.

The Mavs are now in a spot where they could end up missing the 2025 NBA playoffs.

They are the 10th seed in the Western Conference with a 32-30 record in 62 games.

As for Carter, he spent 22 seasons in the NBA with the Hawks, Kings, Grizzlies, Mavs, Suns, Magic, Nets and Raptors.