Kyrie Irving jersey number: Why Mavericks All-Star changed from No. 2 to No. 11

For a number of reasons, Kyrie Irving's second season as a member of the Mavericks will look different than the first.

Irving, who was acquired by Dallas ahead of last year's trade deadline, wore No. 2 during his first 20 games in a Mavs uniform. Thanks to a few developments, Irving will be switching back to No. 11, a jersey number he's sported since his exit from Cleveland in 2017.

"After the trade with Brooklyn last February, Tim Hardaway Jr. requested a change to the No. 10, with Kyrie Irving then reserving No. 11, which Tim was wearing at the time," the Mavericks announced during the introductory press conference for rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper. The pre-emptive statement came as Lively was presented a No. 2 jersey.

Those familiar with Irving shouldn't be surprised with his switch. Here's everything to know about Irving's history with No. 11.

Why did Kyrie Irving change his jersey number?

Irving wears No. 11 for a multitude of reasons, one being an homage to his father, Drederick Irving, who wore the number while scoring 1,931 points over his four-year career at Boston University. 

Irving wore No. 11 as he rose to national prominence at St. Patrick High School in New Jersey but was unable to wear the number during the next few stops in his career. At Duke, the No. 11 is retired for two-time NCAA champion Bobby Hurley. This paved the way for Irving to become the first-ever Duke player to wear No. 1 under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

After his lone season at Duke, Irving was drafted first overall by the Cavaliers, a franchise that planned to retire No. 11 for two-time All-Star Zydrunas Ilgauskas. As such, Irving chose No. 2 to begin his NBA career.

Ahead of his seventh NBA season, Irving was traded to Boston, where No. 11 is one of a few unretired numbers. While the number was going to go to a rookie Jayson Tatum, the trade meant Irving would end up with No. 11 and Tatum would wear No. 0 for Boston.

It served as a full-circle moment as Irving would wear his father's jersey number in the same city where his father starred collegiately.

Irving again wore No. 11 after signing as a free agent with the Nets in 2019 but upon being traded to the Mavericks in 2023, was forced to switch to No. 2 because Tim Hardaway Jr. was wearing No. 11.

Hardaway made a request to change to jersey No. 10 as an homage to his father and Irving made a corresponding request to change his jersey number to No. 11. These changes were all facilitated by Dallas trading Dorian Finney-Smith, who wore jersey No. 10 during his time with the franchise.

As detailed during a Hornets broadcast last season, Irving's history with the No. 11 goes even deeper than his father's college jersey. He was born at 1:11, there are 11 letters in "Kyrie Irving," the letter "K" is the 11th letter in the alphabet, he played 11 games at Duke before being selected first overall in the 2011 NBA Draft and he scored his 11,000th NBA point on March 11.

Kyrie Irving stats: 2 vs. 11

Irving has still played significantly more games wearing No. 2, but he's turned in a number of iconic moments while donning both jersey numbers. Irving's unforgettable 3-pointer in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals came while he wore No. 2, but his historically efficient 60-point game came while he wore No.11.