The Cleveland Cavaliers and James Harden were nearly dealt a season-deciding injury blow on Wednesday. An X-ray of the star point guard's right thumb revealed a non-displaced fracture suffered on Tuesday vs. the New York Knicks. While the injury would normally require surgery, Harden never considered that an option.
“That’s too much time out,” the Cavaliers star said after Sunday's 106-102 win over the Brooklyn Nets. “Thought about playing last game, thought about playing in Milwaukee. There’s going to be some discomfort, so just figuring out ways to fight through. Got no other choice.”
James Harden on whether he considered having surgery on his fractured thumb:
“Nah. That’s too much time out… There’s going to be some discomfort, so just figuring out ways to fight through… I got no other choice." pic.twitter.com/PG2qe37o07
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) March 2, 2026
Harden's injury could have been a crippling blow to Cleveland's title hopes. Following a disappointing start to the season, the Cavaliers swapped an injured Darius Garland for the 36-year-old Harden at the trade deadline. The latter's availability was a driving force in his acquisition.
However, after injuring his thumb, it was unclear whether Harden would be able to play during the stretch run to close the regular season. With Donovan Mitchell also sidelined by a groin injury, Harden missed the first two games of Cleveland's road trip, a pair of tight losses to the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons.
The Cavaliers arrived in New York on Saturday, and Harden went to the NBA Players Association gym to test his thumb.
“See if I can dribble,” he said of the goal of the workout. “If I can dribble, I can play. I still couldn’t dribble how I wanted to, but it was good enough.”
Initially listed as questionable, Harden took the floor against the Nets on Sunday.
James Harden playing through fractured thumb for Cavaliers
To the relief of Cavs fans, he made it through the game and performed well enough to secure a win. Harden logged 36 minutes, posting 29 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, 4-of-7 from three and 8-of-12 from the free-throw line with nine rebounds, eight assists and five turnovers.
“Had too many turnovers,” he said of his performance. “Just not being able to handle the ball properly. After this game, hopefully I get a couple of days to relax and let it heal up and then go from there.”
While Harden finished with a near-triple-double, Kenny Atkinson noticed he wasn't his usual self.
“You could see in the first half that he’s not 100%, obviously,” Atkinson said. “Just fumbling the ball. A couple of those turnovers weren’t his. Then I noticed him kind of deferring a couple times when bringing the ball up. Which he never does. Just probably needed to give it a break. It’s a tough one, especially for a guy that handles it as much as he does.
“I thought in the second half, we had that stretch where we were struggling and he kind of took over. Got to the free-throw line and then hit a couple three. He’s a gamer. Kind of toughed it out… We needed him. He played handicapped. But he still played well.”
The Cavaliers currently hold the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference standings, two games ahead of the Toronto Raptors and 1.5 games behind the New York Knicks. Their next two games feature two of their toughest tests since acquiring Harden.
Cleveland will return home for a rematch with the Pistons on Tuesday. They'll then have four days off for Harden to rest his thumb before a home back-to-back against the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
Harden's thumb will remain one of the top storylines surrounding the Cavaliers in the coming weeks. However, the 11-time All-Star is adamant that he'll do whatever it takes to remain on the court during his age-36 season.
“I just love to play basketball, even without the money,” Harden said. “Basketball is something that we do, and it’s a safe place. As you get better and start studying the game and learning more and get comfortable, it’s the same with anything, you just get addicted to it. I’m blessed to be able to play in this league for as long as I have, and I’m still doing it at a high level. Even now, as I’ve gotten older. I always felt like that when I was younger, but even now I do realize I have a few more years left to play basketball, so I want to definitely cherish them and not have any regrets playing.”
