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 he suffered a non-displaced fracture against the New York Knicks on Tuesday. While the injury usually requires surgery, Harden never considered it an option.
"It's too much time," the Cavaliers star said after Sunday's 106-102 win over the Brooklyn Nets. "Thought about playing the last game, thought about playing in Milwaukee. There's going to be some discomfort, so just figuring out ways to fight. There's no other option."
James Harden asked if he's considering surgery on his broken thumb:
"No. It's too much time... there's going to be some discomfort, so just figuring out ways to fight it... I have no other choice." pic.twitter.com/PG2qe37o07
- Eric Slater (@erikslater_) 2 March 2026
Harden's injury could have been a devastating blow to Cleveland's title hopes. After a disappointing start to the season, the Cavaliers traded an injured Darius Garland for the 36-year-old Harden at the trade deadline. The availability of the latter was a driving force in its acquisition.
However, after injuring his thumb, it was unclear whether Harden would be able to play during the stretch run to end the regular season. With Donovan Mitchell also out with a groin injury, Harden missed the first two games of Cleveland's road trip, suffering tough 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 get his thumb tested.
"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 the way I wanted to, but it was good enough."
Initially listed as questionable, Harden took the field against the Nets on Sunday.
James Harden playing for Cavaliers despite broken thumb
To the relief of Cavs fans, he broke through in the game and played well enough to earn the win. Harden logged 36 minutes, posting 29 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the field, 4 of 7 from three and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line, along with nine rebounds, eight assists and five turnovers.
"Too many turnovers," he said of his performance. "Not being able to handle the ball properly. After this game, hopefully I'll take a few days to rest and let it heal and then go from there."
While Harden finished with a near triple-double, Kenny Atkinson noticed that he was not his usual self.
“You could see in the first half that he wasn't 100%, obviously,” Atkinson said. "Just tipping the ball. Some of those turnovers weren't his. Then I noticed he was tipping the ball a few times while bringing it up. Which he never does. Just probably needed to give it a break. It's tough, especially for a guy who 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 threes. He's a gamer. Kind of made it tough... We needed him. He played handicapped. But he still played well."
The Cavaliers are currently 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 include two of their toughest tests since acquiring Harden.
Cleveland returns home for a rematch with the Pistons on Tuesday. They will then have four days off to rest Harden before back-to-back home contests against the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
Harden's thumb will continue to be one of the top stories surrounding the Cavaliers in the coming weeks. However, the 11-time All-Star is adamant that he will do whatever it takes to remain on the court during his 36-year-old season.
"I love playing basketball even with no money," Harden said. "Basketball is a thing that we do, and it's a safe place. As you get better and start studying the game and start learning more and get comfortable, it's the same with anything, you just get used to it. I've been fortunate 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. When I was younger, I've always been It felt like that, but I still realize I have a few more years left to play basketball, so I definitely cherish them and have no regrets about playing.
