Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving played some inspired basketball on Wednesday night to help lift his team to a dominant 111-92 road victory over the Miami Heat. The eight-time All-Star went off for 25 points on a highly efficient 10-of-15 shooting, to go along with three rebounds, four assists, two steals, and five triples.
Irving now has a million reasons to smile after leading the Mavs to their 50th victory of the season.
Dallas Mavericks News: Kyrie Irving Locks Up $1 Million Bonus
As it turns out, Irving had a whole lot to play for on Wednesday night. He has a clause in his contract that requires the Mavs to win at least 50 games in the regular season in order for him to unlock a monetary bonus amounting to $1 million:
🚨Bonus Alert 🚨
Kyrie Irving
✅ Games played (50) and Team Wins (50)
💰$1M
The Irving cap hit in 2024-25 will get adjusted to $41M.
The Mavericks remain under the luxury tax ($802K below) for this season.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) April 11, 2024
That’s a whole lot of money for the 32-year-old, which will be on top of the $37 million basic salary he has earned this season.
Talk about a much-needed victory, right? Especially considering how the Mavs have just two games remaining after Wednesday’s contest.
In his first season in Dallas, Irving has produced averages of 25.6 points on 49.5 percent shooting, 5.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.3 steals, while also knocking down 2.9 triples per game on a 40.7 percent clip.
According to Mavs beat reporter Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News, Irving thanked his teammates after the win. Upon overhearing the banter, team owner Mark Cuban decided to have a bit of fun with his star player:
"Thank you for my bonus, fellas," Kyrie Irving said to teammates as he settled on the bench to watch the final seconds of the Mavericks' win.
"Kyrie, what bonus?" called Mark Cuban, knowing full well that Irving gets a $1 million bonus for Dallas reaching 50 wins.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) April 11, 2024
Not to worry, Ky. I’m pretty sure Mr. Cuban is good for it.
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